US asks Iran to cooperate with IAEA
The US has asked Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency when their inspectors visit the country, even as Tehran threatened to close down the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation of oil sanctions.
"We call on Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA on this trip," State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, said. "The IAEA is going in a constructive spirit, and it's asking Iran to display the same attitude. There is a lot of work to do," she told reporters.
On Monday, two Iranian lawmakers stepped up threats their country would close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for oil sanctions on Tehran.
The Iranian warnings came as EU nations agreed in Brussels on an oil embargo against Iran as part of sanctions over the country's controversial nuclear programme.
"Obviously, one visit by the IAEA after all this time can't constitute a complete substantive cooperation and transparency that we, the international community, the IAEA, are calling for," she told reporters.
Observing that the proof will be in the pudding, Nuland said one has to see whether the IAEA gets into the sites it wants to see, gets the information that it wants to have.
"You know what we're still looking for. We're still looking for real demonstration that Iran's programme is purely peaceful," she said.
Nuland said the IAEA has been in and out of Iran for years and has yet to be fully satisfied with regard to Iran's programme.
"There were a huge number of questions raised by the November report. They will be seeking to answer those questions, and it's incumbent on Iran to be supportive," she said in response to a question.
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