At the first board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting, Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Reza Najafi, said, “Based on its rights and obligations recognized under the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] Iran is ready to faithfully engage and remove any ambiguity on its nuclear activities.”According to a Reuters report, while Iran continues to push what it considers its legitimate right to nuclear energy—they claim their enrichment of uranium is only for energy and medicine— Najafi said that Iran has a great desire to “constructively interact” on the nuclear issue.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with the director general and his team in the coming days,” Najafi said. Iran is ready for “meaningful, result-oriented and time-bound negotiations . . . [without] language or threat of sanctions.”

Recently elected Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has vowed to make Iran less confrontational and more transparent. While hailed as more moderate than his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it remains to be seen whether this change in rhetoric also signals a change in action.

Western powers, who have continued to impose increased sanctions on Iran over the past few years, welcomed Najafi’s statements, but stress that Iran has actually expanded its uranium-enrichment capacity the last few months.