Iran nuclear man "cancels IAEA speech"
#PRESS
A top Iranian nuclear official has cancelled his speech at the IAEA General Assembly after the Security Council adopted an anti-Iran resolution.
Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, was scheduled to address the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assembly on Monday.
Earlier reports had suggested that Aqazadeh, who is tasked with dealing with the technical aspects of the Iranian nuclear program, would shed more light on the country's nuclear activities.
He was likely to address the issue of Iran's 'alleged studies of weaponization', an accusation leveled against Tehran by Western countries.
An Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IRNA on Sunday that Aqazadeh will not attend the Vienna summit.
The United Nations Security Council on Saturday adopted a new resolution on Iran, demanding the country to halt uranium enrichment.
Contrary to the findings of the UN nuclear watchdog, the US, Israel and their European allies have long accused Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of seeking nuclear weapons.
The UN body said in its September 15 report that it could not find any 'components of a nuclear weapon' or 'related nuclear physics studies' in Iran. Iran, backed by the 118-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as well as the 57-member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), says its nuclear program is directed at peaceful applications of the technology, such as generating electricity for its growing population.