Associated Press

Associated Press

VIENNA

A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful.

The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance.

Before the trip, senior diplomats told The Associated Press that Russia and China — strategic and economic partners that Iran traditionally relies on to blunt Western pressure over its nuclear activities — were urging Tehran to cooperate with the IAEA team.