IAEA Chief Welcomes US Overture To Iran

`It is the way to go. It is long overdue,` Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Thursday welcomed overtures by U.S. President Barack Obama towards Iran and said direct dialogue was the only way to end a long-running nuclear dispute.

U.S.-Iranian relations were frozen under President George W. Bush. But a British newspaper reported on Thursday that Washington was drafting a letter to Iran to pave the way for face-to-face talks.

"It is the way to go. It is long overdue," Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said of Obama's overtures. He was speaking in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.