UN nuclear inspectors visit Iran

UN inspectors are in Iran on a long-stalled visit to investigate suspicions that Tehran worked on nuclear weapons – a charge the Islamic Republic denies.

Iranian nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Tehran today to discuss “unresolved issues” surrounding a military site in Marivan, in western Iran.

A 2011 IAEA report indicated that large-scale high-explosive experiments were conducted in Marivan, near the Iraqi border.

Talks with the IAEA are in parallel to Iran’s nuclear negotiations with world powers seeking a permanent agreement on curbing the country’s nuclear activities by June 30 in return for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.