VIENNA: Iran will need to show genuine readiness to address mounting suspicions about its nuclear program at rare talks with senior UN officials this month to convince a skeptical West that it is not just playing for time.With Iran facing intensifying sanctions pressure, a high-level team from the UN atomic watchdog is expected to visit this month, seeking explanations on long-standing concerns that Iran may be seeking to develop nuclear arms capability.
Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the Islamic Republic is ready to answer the agency's questions in order to remove "any ambiguities" about its nuclear work and clear up the issue once and for all.
But Iranian officials have used such language before, and diplomats say this will not be enough to satisfy the IAEA.
"I would tend to be rather pessimistic," one Western envoy said. "This road is paved with danger and past experience cannot render anyone optimistic."
Another diplomat added: "I doubt very seriously that (the high-level UN nuclear mission) will lead to anything."
While UN inspectors regularly monitor Iran's declared nuclear sites, their movements are otherwise restricted, and the IAEA has complained for years of a lack of access to sites, equipment, documents and people relevant to its probe.
"They (the Iranians) should understand that they don't get rid of these questions by not addressing them. This is something the IAEA will definitely tell them," a Western official said.
Daryl Kimball, of the US-based Arms Control Association, said it was critical to secure "more intrusive access by the IAEA to all of Iran's nuclear-related activities" and convince it to finally address questions about weapons-related work.