UN Nuclear Watchdog Confirms Iran Mission

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (left) and Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali Asghar Soltanieh (right), meet with IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano in Vienna in July 2011.

The UN's nuclear agency has confirmed a mission will visit Iran at the end of the month to discuss Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team will be in Iran from January 29 to January 31.

An IAEA statement said the objective of the visit is to "resolve all outstanding substantive issues" regarding the possible military applications of Iran's program.

It added that the IAEA is seeking explanations for intelligence information indicating Iran is conducting research relevant to the development of nuclear weapons.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said the team "is going to Iran in a constructive spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in that same spirit."

The announcement comes as European Union foreign ministers adopted new sanctions against Iran, including an embargo on new contracts for Iranian oil and petroleum products.

compiled from agency reports