Yukiya Amano, Japan's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was formally appointed to head the agency on the first day of its annual conference on Monday.

The 62-year-old won the approval of the IAEA's 150 member states after being elected by the organization's board of governors in July.

He will take office on December 1, replacing Mohamed ElBaradei who has led the agency for the past 12 years. Speaking at the organization's headquarters in Vienna, Amano praised his predecessor for his "tireless efforts and selfless dedication towards world peace."

He also vowed to pursue the issue of nuclear proliferation, warning that the problem was not about to go away.

"It is unlikely that this trend will ever be reversed, but rather it will continue to accelerate," he said in his first address to the body.

Amano's appointment comes as the nuclear watchdog struggles with a six-year investigation into allegations that Iran's nuclear program is being used for military purposes. Although Amano did not mention Iran by name, the nuclear standoff with Tehran is likely to be the central challenge of his four-year term.

The outgoing ElBaradei repeated his appeal to Iran to show more transparency in its nuclear activities. "A number of questions and allegations that cast doubt on the peaceful nature of (Iran's civilian nuclear) program are still outstanding," ElBaradei said.

The 67-year-old Egyptian, who has often come under fire from both Washington and Tehran during his tenure, welcomed a US offer to revive talks with Iran without preconditions. However, he also suggested that accompanying the offer with threats of punitive measures for non-compliance could backfire.

"We must keep open the channels of communication with those with whom we have issues that need to be resolved, rather than seeking to isolate them," he said.

The United States, which believes Tehran's civilian nuclear program is secretly being used to develop nuclear weapons, has in the past accused ElBaradei of being too soft on Iran.

Meanwhile, European and Iranian officials have said that major powers will meet with Iran to resume talks over the nuclear dispute on October 1.

The European Union's foreign policy coordinator, Javier Solana, has been tasked with negotiating with Iran on behalf of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Russia, Britain, France and China – plus Germany.

nw/AFP/dpa/Reuters
Editor:Susan Houlton