A Commander of the IRGC: Inspections of Military Centers, Under Any Title, Are Equivalent to Espionage

The commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has described inspections 'under any title' and even from a 'distance' from Iran's military centers as 'equivalent to espionage' and referred to it as 'hot lead' like another commander of the IRGC. According to a report on Friday, May 1, from the IRIB news agency, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, in a meeting with foreign military attaches residing in Iran, considered requests for inspections of the country's military centers as 'official espionage requests' in Iran. Following the criticisms and harsh reactions of Islamic Republic officials to the possibility of implementing the Additional Protocol and inspections of facilities, Hajizadeh emphasized that inspections of Iran's military centers 'under any title, including coordinated or uncoordinated inspections, around centers or even at any distance and in any form are considered espionage, and the response will be hot lead.' These remarks by Hajizadeh are reminiscent of statements made by Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, who on Saturday, April 29, warned that the Islamic Republic would respond to visits to its military centers 'with hot lead.' Members of Iran's nuclear negotiation team had previously indicated the possibility of 'managed access' to Iran's military centers, stating that 'access' does not mean inspections but rather 'environmental sampling.' In similar remarks, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, also said on Tuesday, April 28, that 'inspectors under the Additional Protocol can take samples from areas surrounding non-nuclear centers.' However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, emphasized that Iran will not allow inspections of its military centers and 'interrogation of its nuclear scientists.' Hours after these remarks from the leader of the Islamic Republic, Marie Harf, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated that the U.S. government does not intend to respond to every opinion of the leader of the Islamic Republic. But one day after these remarks, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, emphasized the government's full obedience to the leader of the Islamic Republic, stating that Iran will 'never' sign an agreement that allows access to 'scientific and military secrets' of the country. Meanwhile, Aladdin Boroujerdi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, said on Thursday evening in a television program that visits to 'sensitive centers' in Iran 'through the Additional Protocol' are 'unacceptable.' He added, 'If the Additional Protocol is ever reviewed in Parliament, these issues will be removed.' According to the Additional Protocol in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which Iran voluntarily accepted in the Lausanne nuclear agreement, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency are allowed to conduct surprise inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities whenever they deem necessary. However, Hassan Rouhani stated on Thursday, May 31, that 'the management of the implementation of the Additional Protocol is with us and will be based on respecting red lines.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, also stated on Tuesday, April 28, that 'the Additional Protocol does not in any way allow for excessive and unjustified access to the structures of countries, but rather creates a regulated framework that is currently being implemented in 124 countries.' On the other hand, according to the French Foreign Minister, in the latest round of nuclear negotiations, Tehran has stated that in case of suspicion of a violation of the nuclear agreement, it requires 24 days to issue permission for international inspectors to enter its facilities. As the dispute over inspections of Iran's nuclear centers continues, the third round of negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 group to continue drafting the final agreement concluded on Thursday evening in Vienna. In this round of negotiations, which continues on Friday, Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, deputies of Iran's foreign minister, and Helga Schmid, the EU's foreign policy chief, are participating. Iran and the 5+1 group reached a preliminary agreement on the framework for the final agreement on April 1 in Lausanne, Switzerland, after eight days of intensive negotiations. The two sides had previously set July 11 as the deadline for signing the final agreement.