Yukiya Amano, speaking at Vienna airport after talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Sunday, said Iran had begun implementing five nuclear transparency measures that it agreed three months ago to carry out by next Monday.
The measures include information about two issues directly linked to the UN nuclear agency's long-stalled inquiry into what it calls the possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is entirely peaceful.
"The implementation of these five measures started," Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told reporters on his return from the Iranian capital, without elaborating on what Iran was undertaking.
"We have started and that is important and I expect that progress will be made over the next week," said Amano, after securing what he called on Sunday a firm commitment to cooperate with the IAEA's investigation.
Iran denies its program has any military objectives.
Diplomatic sources said in July that the IAEA was concerned about Iran's lack of engagement with the investigation.
They said there was still time for Iran to meet its commitments by Aug. 25, noting that Tehran had occasionally waited until the last minute to make concessions in the past.
Amano made clear that he believed there was a need to speed up the clarification of the IAEA's concerns. "Certainly, we are of the view that we need to accelerate," he said.
REUTERS