Iranian regime has blocked UN atomic agency’s access to images of its nuclear power plants

The Iranian parliament said on Sunday that the temporary inspection agreement between Iran and the United Nations atomic agency (IAEA) had expired and that this body you will not be able to access images recorded in nuclear facilities.

“The quarterly mandate of the agency was until July 1 (May 22) and, on this basis, The IAEA does not have the right to access images and information from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Yesterday it was discussed and decided»Informed the President of the Chamber, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf.

The IAEA succeeded in reaching a three-month interim agreement to verify Iran’s nuclear program on February 21. The pact stipulated that if the United States had not lifted the sanctions against Iran within this time frame, the aforementioned images would not be delivered to the UN agency.

It is not known what will happen to this temporary inspection agreement, on the extension of which Iran and the IAEA have negotiated, and an announcement is expected from the director of the UN nuclear agency, Rafael Grossi. ., who called a press conference this afternoon.

This arrangement was made with the aim of mitigating the impact of the end of Iran’s application of the so-called Additional Protocol, which granted IAEA inspectors free access to any site in Iran, without notice.

This measure to limit inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities is in fact contained in a law approved by the Iranian parliament last December with the aim of putting pressure on the United States to lift its sanctions against the Persian country.

The effect of the IAEA in-person inspection decision is unclear. In Iran, there are 18 nuclear facilities and nine other centers covered by IAEA safeguards.

Qalibaf said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, backed the decision.

MP Alí Reza Salimí also demanded during the public session of Parliament that the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Alí ​​Akbar Salehí, be ordered “to remove the videos and images from the cameras” .

The interim pact expired without the negotiations in Vienna to save the 2015 nuclear deal.While substantial progress has been made, further reduction in inspections may hamper these conversations.

However, and in the comments made this Sunday, the president of the country, Hassan Rouhani, assured that Iran will do everything possible to continue the talks until an agreement is guaranteed with the American authorities. “The United States has clearly declared its willingness to lift the sanctions against Iran under the nuclear deal and we will continue the negotiations until we reach a final agreement,” he said. said in a statement posted on the presidency’s website.

The president made no mention of the Iranian parliament’s statement.

Last Thursday, Rouhani assured that in the negotiations, the elimination of the main US sanctions against Iran, including those of the oil sector and banking, was agreed, although he noted that some important questions remain to be discussed.

The fourth round of negotiations in Vienna ended last Wednesday and negotiations are expected to resume next week., after delegations held consultations in their respective capitals.

The countries that remain in the pact – Iran, Germany, France, the UK, Russia and China – are participating in the negotiations and include indirect contacts with the US, which has abandoned the deal. in 2018.

(With information from EFE, AP and Europa Press)

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