Iran: IAEA Not Entitled to Visit Parchin

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) reiterated once again that the UN nuclear watchdog agency is not legally entitled to visit the country's Parchin military site which has already been inspected by the IAEA twice, stressing that any possible access to the site will be managed by Tehran.

"Legally, they are not entitled to visit Parchin since we have not accepted and are not exercising the Additional Protocol (to the NPT)," AEOI Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told FNA Saturday.

He said even if Iran one day accepts to endorse the Additional Protocol, such an access should happen in a managed form.

He underlined the importance of a fatwa (religious decree) issued by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei against the production and use of the nuclear weapons, and said, "The other sides know that this fatwa is more valuable (more binding) to us than the Additional Protocol and other international laws", and that's why we are not after the production of the nuclear weapons, "(but) they are after other objectives".

The IAEA inspectors have two times visited Parchin military site in the past and found no evidence of nuclear activities in it.

Former Head of the AEOI Fereidoun Abbasi said in March 2013 that Tehran would allow the IAEA to visit its non-nuclear military site in Parchin again only if the UN nuclear watchdog convinces it of the necessity of such a visit by presenting relevant documents.

"As I have said before, Parchin isn't a nuclear site and no nuclear activity is carried out in there," and if the IAEA believes that it should visit this site, it "should present its documents about nuclear activity in this site so that we can discuss the issue with our military officials," Abbasi told reporters in Tehran at the time.

Also in April, 2013, Abbasi had said that the UN nuclear watchdog should explain why it intends to send its inspectors to the Parchin military site because the AEOI has no station or activity in there and the site has already been inspected by the IAEA.

He pointed to the IAEA's concern about Iran's refusal to allow an inspection of Parchin, and noted, "If we enter another country, would they allow us to visit (inspect) wherever we want?"

"We (AEOI) have no site in Parchin; Parchin has been repeatedly accused despite the fact that it has gone under inspection in the past," Abbasi said.

He reminded that the IAEA should have a strong argument to convince Iranian officials, including the defense minister, that inspection of Parchin is necessary, and said, "Our military commanders are rational people (and would allow IAEA access to Parchin if they are presented with a good reasoning), but the point is that we in the Atomic Energy (Organization of Iran) have not been convinced by the IAEA inspectors of the goal of such a visit."

Iran in April dismissed the allegations raised by a Zionist media that the country has delivered a stockpile of low-enriched uranium to its Parchin military site.

"The Zionist regime is losing (the game) and it seems that they are attempting to fool the world due to the (bad) situation they are entangled in," Kamalvandi told FNA.

Noting that the Zionist regime is angry at the normalization of relations between Iran and the western countries after the start of the talks between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), he said, "The regime is seeking to disrupt this trend (of talks) through certain measures."

Kamalvandi dismissed the claims raised by the Zionist Debka website that Iran has delivered 1,300kg of low-enriched uranium to its Parchin military site, and said, "Raising such baseless allegations will unveil the real face of the Zionists more than before to make more clear to the world that their earlier news and reports (about Iran) have also been of the same type and lies."