Iran says UN atomic agency chief to visit Tehran again

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s top nuclear official says the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog will visit Iran later this month.

Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV on Tuesday that Yukiya Amano of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed interest in visiting Iran before the end of current year and that “we welcomed it.”

This will be Amano’s second visit to Tehran in 2016. He visited Iran in January, when Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers went into effect.

Salehi says that Iran and the IAEA have had “very positive” co-operation that will be further “boosted.” The agency is tasked with verifying that Iran is abiding by the terms of the nuclear agreement.

Under the deal, Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of crippling international sanctions.