Foreign Access to Iran's Military Sites An Impossible Dream: Military Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A ranking Iranian military official roundly rejected the idea of inspection of the country's military sites as part of a possible accord on Tehran's peaceful nuclear energy program.
"What some members of the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) brought up about the inspection of military sites in Iran is a dream that will never come true," Brigadier General Ali Shadmani, deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for operations told Tasnim.
"We are strongly opposed to that issue even being mooted, and will not permit anybody to inspect a smallest military center at any cost," he underlined.
The official described military sites as the country's defense secrets that should be protected for national security reasons.
Iran's military power is not negotiable, he reiterated.
In relevant comments 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.
In their latest round of talks on April 2, Iran and the six powers reached a framework nuclear agreement after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June.
The framework provides a series of solutions that will be the basis of a comprehensive joint plan of action.