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VIENNA (Reuters) - The European Union said on Thursday it was disappointed with a lack of progress by Iran in addressing concerns about its suspected atomic bomb research, pressuring Tehran to cooperate with a long-stalled U.N. watchdog inquiry.
The 28-nation EU made the statement at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which for years has been investigating allegations that Iran has worked on designing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge.
In Britain, France and Germany, the EU groups three of the six world powers that are seeking to negotiate a resolution to a wider, decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear programme. Those talks resume in New York this week.
An IAEA report in early September showed Iran had failed to answer questions about what the U.N. agency calls the possible military dimensions (PMD) of the country's nuclear programme by an agreed Aug. 25 deadline.
'The EU is disappointed with the very limited progress on PMD,' the EU statement said. 'It is essential and urgent that Iran cooperates fully and in a timely manner with the agency regarding all relevant issues.'
'We urge Iran to demonstrate its cooperation by providing the agency with access to all the people, documents and sites requested, and encourage it to facilitate this cooperation through the issuance of visas.'
Analysts say a stalled IAEA inquiry could further complicate the powers' parallel efforts to reach a settlement with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual phasing out of sanctions hurting its oil-dependent economy.
(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl, editing by John Stonestreet)
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Entities 0 Name: Iran Count: 8 1 Name: EU Count: 4 2 Name: IAEA Count: 3 3 Name: U.N. Count: 2 4 Name: John Stonestreet Count: 1 5 Name: Fredrik Dahl Count: 1 6 Name: France Count: 1 7 Name: International Atomic Energy Agency Count: 1 8 Name: Tehran Count: 1 9 Name: Britain Count: 1 10 Name: Reuters Count: 1 11 Name: Germany Count: 1 12 Name: New York Count: 1 13 Name: European Union Count: 1 14 Name: VIENNA Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/XlwO8U Title: Iran nuclear talks set to resume Description: Talks between Iran and the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China on Iran's disputed nuclear programme are due to resume in New York. But officials say that a breakthrough in the negotiations is unlikely. US and Iranian diplomats have met ahead of the talks and Iran's foreign minister and the EU foreign policy chief will meet on Thursday.
