Iran is ready for compromise to avoid Security Council referral

Iran has signaled it may grant access to sites linked to possible work on nuclear weapons and other demands from the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid being referred to the U.N. Security Council, diplomats said Tuesday.

The diplomats, who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said a high-ranking IAEA delegation was in Tehran on Tuesday to discuss the issue with Iranian officials.

Besides seeking access to two military sites, the agency also wants to interview military officials thought to be associated with what Iran calls a purely civilian nuclear program. The agency is also asking for documents linked to the country's uranium enrichment program, the AP reports.

IAEA officials view those three outstanding issues as crucial to their nearly three-year probe meant to test Iranian assertions that more than 18 years of clandestine nuclear activities first discovered in 2002 were geared solely toward generating power.

The diplomats, who are accredited to the agency, said that after signals from Tehran that it was ready to compromise - all of three points were being discussed between Iranian officials and the IAEA delegation, led by Olli Heinonen, an agency deputy director general. A.M.