Inspection of Iran’s Military Sites, Access to Scientists Off Table: Negotiator
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The parties involved in nuclear talks with Iran have been notified of Tehran’s outright opposition to the notion of inspection of the country’s military centers and access to the nuclear scientists for interviews, senior Iranian negotiator Abbas Araqchi underlined.
Speaking to reporters after three days of nuclear talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna, Araqchi said the idea of access to Iran’s military sites or interviews with the country’s nuclear scientists is not on the agenda of negotiations with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) at all.
“What the Supreme Leader said about prohibition of access to individuals (nuclear scientists) for interviews and also prohibition of visiting or inspecting military centers is a very serious and decisive instruction and the other side has been clearly informed that this is by no way on our agenda,” Araqchi, also a deputy foreign minister added.
He said the other side had already proposed the idea of “managed access” to a list of Iranian sites and individuals by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to address the alleged PMD (possible military dimensions) in Iran’s nuclear program.
“Such proposal was not accepted in Tehran. We are working on other ideas and have told this to the other side explicitly,” he noted.
The Iranian diplomat said the Vienna talks over the past three days, held both at the level of experts and deputies, focused on drafting the text of a final nuclear deal, its appendices and on a resolution that the United Nations Security Council will have to adopt under the comprehensive deal, annulling all previous sanctions imposed on Iran.
However, he added, a great amount of difference still remain, including a procedure for simultaneous implementation of the lasting deal by the both sides.
While Iran and the world powers are in talks to hammer out a lasting accord that would end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has 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," the Leader said on May 20.