IAEA Chief’s Claim on Iran Nuclear Information Gap Lacks Legal Basis: Spokesman

In remarks on Tuesday, Behrouz Kamalvandi reacted to the comments made by Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi about Iran’s nuclear activities.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna on Monday on the first day of an IAEA governing board’s quarterly meeting, Grossi pointed to the talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that boosting the IAEA’s access could facilitate the achievement of broader conclusions over Iran’ nuclear program. “Frankly, the information gap is bigger and bigger and bigger,” he said.

Also in an introductory statement to the Board of Governors on Monday, Grossi said, “In my report, I have highlighted that, in the event of a full resumption of Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA, the Agency will need to address the gap in its knowledge of what took place while our surveillance and monitoring equipment was not in operation. To do so, the Agency would need to apply additional safeguards measures and Iran would need to provide comprehensive and accurate records to the Agency.”

In response, Kamalvandi said the notion that there is a gap in the IAEA’s information about Iran’s nuclear activities and that such a gap is getting bigger “lacks any legal basis”.

The AEOI spokesman explained that the deactivation of monitoring equipment in Iran complies with the agreement between the P5+1 and Iran which has been defined in the form of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He noted that the resumption of the IAEA’s surveillance of Iran’s nuclear sites is conditional upon the removal of anti-Iran sanctions and the fulfillment of commitments by the other parties in accordance with the law passed by the Iranian Parliament on “strategic action” for lifting of the sanctions and safeguarding national interests.

Reacting to the UN nuclear chief’s insistence that Iran should provide credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles at three undeclared locations, Kamalvandi said Iran has worked in full cooperation with the IAEA with regard to those three locations, given the information and replies to the IAEA’s questions, and has also held discussion meetings to resolve ambiguities.

The IAEA should avoid making judgments on the basis of the documents that the Zionist regime fabricates and offers to the UN nuclear watchdog with special political purposes, he underlined, adding, “Such a type of judgment runs counter to the principle of impartiality and professionalism.”

The IAEA has already examined all nuclear materials declared by Iran, the spokesman stated, noting that the mere detection of traces in a few locations could not be interpreted as the existence of undeclared nuclear materials.

“This way of conclusion is contrary to the (International Atomic Energy) Agency’s recognized procedures and standards, even compared with similar cases in different countries,” Kamalvandi noted.

It’s a pity that the IAEA chief’s comments result from the Zionist regime’s objectives and biased political purposes, he deplored, adding, “We advise the IAEA and the negotiating parties to stay away from these behaviors, as such an approach has not been fruitful for them so far.”