Iran's Opposition to Inspection of Military Sites an 'Inalienable Right': Adviser
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An adviser to Iran's parliament speaker on international affairs highlighted the dominance of the country’s enemies over the UN nuclear watchdog and said the Islamic Republic has the right to prevent access to its military sites under the pretext of inspection.
"That we do not allow our military and sensitive sites to be inspected or that we refuse to send our (nuclear) scientists under the knife of interrogation is part of Iran's obvious and inalienable rights," Hossein Sheikholeslam told the Tasnim News Agency.
It is especially so because the Islamic Republic has previously been hit (by such inspections), he added.
Iran has no confidence in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is not independent or just but is under the influence of the US and Israel, Sheikholeslam noted.
His comments come as Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are engaged in negotiations to end more than a decade of standoff over Tehran's civilian nuclear program once and for all.
One of the sticking points in the talks is the IAEA's inspection of sites in Iran that have nothing to do with the nuclear program.
Back on April 9, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei categorically rejected foreign access to the country's "security and defensive" sectors under the pretext of nuclear monitoring.
Later on May 20, the Leader ruled out any request for interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists, describing it as an instance of "interrogation".
"I would not let foreigners come (here) and talk to the Iranian nation's dear scientists..., who have expanded this wide knowledge to this stage," Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.
