Defiant Iran begins nuclear talks
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Ultimatum: ElBaradei has asked for access to all of Iran's nuclear sites.
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Tehran, Iran -- U.N. nuclear watchdog officials began talks with Iranian authorities about the country's controversial nuclear program ahead of an October 31 deadline.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Tehran that it must come clean about its nuclear ambitions otherwise it will be reported to the United Nations Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
Iran was branded part of the "axis of evil" with North Korea and pre-war Iraq by the United States, which claims Tehran's nuclear program is being used to create an atomic bomb.
Tehran claims it nuclear program is for peaceful use, the generation of electricity.
"The talks began at 10 a.m. (GMT 06:30) under an atmosphere of understanding. The talks are very important and vital for both sides," Saber Zaimian, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told The Associated Press Thursday.
IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei called this week for Iran to give his team full cooperation.
Before leaving for Tehran on Wednesday, IAEA Deputy Director-General Pierre Goldschmidt said: "We're going to start very important discussions with the top officials from Iran... We do expect that we will make a lot of progress."
Iran's Zaimian said Thursday the talks are expected to take "between one to three weeks depending on the progress of the negotiations."
But Iran has said it would only give IAEA inspectors limited access to nuclear sites and refused to halt uranium enrichment.
Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for power plants, or as bomb material if highly enriched.
A report prepared for the Pentagon said Iran may be in a position to make a nuclear bomb within two years and Washington should consider a deal with Tehran to persuade it to abandon its nuclear program. (Full story)
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
