Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 18
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano met Jan. 18 with the Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi, IRNA news agency reported.
Amano arrived in Tehran Jan. 18.
He will meet with other senior Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani.
The report says that Amano's visit to Tehran is aimed to strengthening the relations between IAEA and Iran.
According to the IAEA, Amano and Iranian officials will discuss IAEA's role in verifying and monitoring Iran's nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, aka nuclear deal).
International sanctions imposed on Iran with regard to its nuclear program were removed as the JCPOA entered the implementation phase on Jan. 16.
Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (the US, France, the UK, Germany, China, and Russia) in July 2015 agreed on a landmark nuclear deal to curb Tehran's sensitive nuclear activities in return for the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Iran announced Jan. 17 that it started implementation of the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The Additional Protocol allows unannounced inspections outside the declared nuclear sites and it is seen as a vital tool at the IAEA's disposal to make sure that a country doesn't have any hidden nuclear work.