Iran says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Tehran is eager to resolve outstanding questions about its nuclear program.
Iran's state news agency says Mr. Ahmadinejad made the remark to IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei during a meeting Saturday in Tehran.
The agency says Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, reaffirmed the transparency of Iran's nuclear program in a separate meeting Saturday with ElBaradei.
Elbaradei is due to meet for the first time with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on the country's policies.
The U.N. nuclear chief has been holding two days of talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran in hopes of persuading them to intensify cooperation with his agency, before he reports to the IAEA's board of governors in March.
ElBaradei is visiting Iran for the first time in more than 18 months. A U.N. spokeswoman said he sees the visit as an opportunity for Tehran to provide the IAEA with more information about the country's past and current nuclear activities.
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon under the guise of a civilian atomic program. Iran says its nuclear work is strictly for civilian purposes.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
