( dpa ) - The visit by International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei to Iran would be the start of a "new phase" of cooperation between the UN nuclear watchdog and Tehran, an Iranian nuclear official said Friday.
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization deputy Mohammad Saeidi told IRNA news agency that the new phase would include putting an end to the political aspects of the nuclear dispute, normalization of the nuclear dossier and its return from the United Nations Security Council to the IAEA in Vienna.
ElBaradei arrived in Tehran on Thursday night and is scheduled to meet Friday with atomic organization chief Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh for talking about the latest technical issues of Iran's nuclear projects.
On Saturday he is to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, chief nuclear negotiator Saeid Jalili, and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, with whom the political aspects of the nuclear dispute are supposed to be discussed.
The aim of the visit is reportedly to clarify all outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear projects, but observers in Tehran say that Iran might declare its readiness to resume implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol - allowing IAEA snap inspections - if no third UN resolution was issued against the Islamic state and the dossier returned to the IAEA.