Iran’s PMD Case on Track for Closure: Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A top Iranian diplomat said recent developments suggest that the file on the so-called PMD (possible military dimensions) in Tehran’s nuclear program is going to be closed by the UN nuclear watchdog once and for all.
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano’s upcoming, final report on the evaluation of Iran’s nuclear activities to the IAEA’s Board of Governors will resolve ambiguities concerning Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program, Hamid Baeedinejad, the director general for political and international affairs at Iran's foreign ministry, said in his Instagram page on Saturday.
Once the concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities are allayed, the Board of Governors will close the case of PMD on December 15, Baeedinejad explained, saying that the course of developments suggests that such a thing is going to happen.
He noted that Amano’s recent assertion that his upcoming report on Iran “will not be black and white” is not a matter of concern, since the IAEA is not expected to provide a “clear and decisive” answer to every claim and allegation about Iran’s nuclear case.
“The lack of a final answer to some of the questions will not damage the agency’s final assessment,” the Iranian diplomat added.
His comments came after Amano announced that the IAEA’s recent investigations have given it a better understanding of Iran’s so-called PMD case.
The Japanese IAEA chief, however, added, “The report will not be black and white… What I can now say is that this is an issue that cannot be answered by yes and no.”
As part of a Road-map signed between Iran and the IAEA in July, the agency is required to finish its investigations about Iran’s nuclear activities and submit a report to the Board of Governors by December 15.
The Road-map was signed on the same day that Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The IAEA has been given the role of verifying Iran’s commitments under the lasting nuclear deal.
The agreement was officially adopted on October 18, and is going to take effect within the next few weeks, after the IAEA releases its final report.