MP Calls on West to Refer Iran’s N. Case to IAEA
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A prominent Iranian legislator called on the western countries to take positive steps to build trust and return debates on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program to its normal track, saying the case should be referred back to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“Westerners should refer Iran’s nuclear case from the United Nations Security Council to the (International Atomic Energy) agency in a bid to return the case to normal track,” Ahmad Bakhshayesh, member of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, told Tasnim News Agency on Thursday.
The lawmaker also asserted that any decision on adopting the Additional Protocol of the IAEA would need the prior approval of Iran’s parliament, noting that the legislature will cooperate on the issue provided that the West agrees "to deal with the nuclear case in the normal way."
At present, the UN Security Council deals with Iran’s nuclear case.
The Iranian lawmaker’s comments came after the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, told reporters during nuclear talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) held in the Swiss city of Geneva on October 15-16 that any discussion on the level of Iran's uranium enrichment as well as its adoption of the Additional Protocol come in the final stage of Iran's proposed plan offered in Geneva.
On Tuesday, Iran proposed a three-step proposal to the other side in Switzerland.
“This path is a roadmap, and its end will be adoption of the Additional Protocol,” Bakhshayesh explained, referring to Iran’s proposed plan to the G5+1 countries.
He also described implementation of the Additional Protocol as a “major concession”, and made it clear that Iran has no problem with inspection of its nuclear facilities, as the country “has nothing to hide”.
The voluntary but advanced nuclear safeguards standard, the implementation of which includes a legal document, was accepted earlier by Iran in 2003, but not officially ratified by the country’s parliament.
The Additional Protocol substantially expands the IAEA's ability to check nuclear facilities by providing the agency with authority to visit any facility, declared or not, to investigate questions about or inconsistencies in a state's nuclear declarations. States parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty are not required to adopt an additional protocol, although the IAEA is urging all to do so.