Addressing a closed-door meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors on Monday, Director General of the UN nuclear agency, Yukiya Amano, hailed Iran's efforts in implementing the landmark deal reached last November.

"The measures implemented by Iran, and the further commitments it has undertaken, represent a positive step forward, but much remains to be done to resolve all outstanding issues," Amano said, according to a copy of his speech.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States -- plus Germany inked an interim deal on Tehran’s nuclear energy program in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 24 last year. The Geneva agreement, dubbed the Joint Plan of Action, took effect on January 20.

Amano’s announcement comes as Iran and the six countries are set to start a new round of expert-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear energy program in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Wednesday.

Negotiations between the two sides are aimed at reaching a final agreement to fully resolve the West’s decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

Tehran and the six countries wrapped up their latest round of nuclear negotiations in Vienna on February 20.

Following the Vienna talks, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said Tehran and its negotiating partners had finalized a framework for comprehensive talks to reach a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear energy program.

RA/NJF