Tehran -- The following are remarks by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, at a News Conference after he signed a Joint Statement on a Framework for Cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran:

"The International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran have just issued the Joint Statement on a Framework for Cooperation.

"Under the Framework, Iran and the IAEA will cooperate further with respect to verification activities to be undertaken by the IAEA to resolve all present and past issues. The practical measures contained in the Annex are substantive measures and will be implemented in three months starting from today.

"This is an important step forward to start with, but much more needs to be done.

"The outstanding issues that are not contained in the Annex to the Framework for Cooperation, including those in my previous reports to the Board of Governors, will be addressed in the subsequent steps under the Framework for Cooperation.

"The IAEA is firmly committed to resolving all outstanding issues through dialogue and cooperation."