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‘Iran entitled to approve IAEA inspectors’

Press TV – September 10, 2010

The father of Iran’s nuclear program Dr. Akbar Etemad says Iran is entitled to accept or refuse inspectors dispatched by the IAEA.
Former Iranian nuclear chief says Iran is legally bound by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) protocol to vet inspectors dispatched to visit its nuclear facilities.

The terms of a contract between Iran and the IAEA stipulate that the Iranian government “has the right to accept or refuse the inspectors introduced by the Agency,” Former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) Akbar Etemad told IRNA on Thursday.

The remarks come days after the UN body noted in its latest report that Tehran’s “repeated objections” to the designation of experienced inspectors could hamper the process of monitoring Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Etemad rejected the concept in the agency’s report and said, “Iran has undoubtedly had sufficient reasons to refuse some of the inspectors.”

He further pointed out that the IAEA reports portray Iran as having a legal obligation to implement the Additional Protocol of the agency, whereas Iran’s Majlis (national legislative body) has suspended voluntary execution of the Protocol and all other voluntary and non-legally binding cooperation with the IAEA that are beyond the requirements of the nuclear watchdog.

Iranian officials maintain that the interference of the UN Security Council in Iran’s nuclear dossier has prompted the Majlis to stop the implementation of the Additional Protocol.

Following the imposition of US-engineered UN Security Council sanctions against the Islamic Republic in June, the United States and the European Union imposed further unilateral sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.

Tehran rejects Western allegations that it is following a military nuclear program, arguing that as a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to use peaceful nuclear technology.

September 10, 2010 - Posted by | Mainstream Media, Warmongering

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