European Union: No Nuclear Agreement Without Completion of Agency Investigations

The European Union tells Iran that if it wants a nuclear agreement to lift sanctions, it must cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding outstanding investigations. The Associated Press reported on Monday, June 8, that this was stated in a statement issued by the European Union, which is to be presented at the IAEA meeting on that day. According to the Associated Press, the statement says, "Iran denies any work on nuclear weapons or interest in acquiring such weapons and has also rejected the IAEA's requests for cooperation regarding investigations into this issue." The statement also adds that "completing investigations regarding these allegations is essential for reaching a nuclear agreement" and that "Iran must accept limitations on its current nuclear activities." Kamelvandi: Iran can accept its own interpretation of the Additional Protocol. While Iran's foreign minister has stated that "cherry-picking" from the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is not feasible, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization says Iran "can accept its own interpretation" of this protocol. According to a text published on the website of the Al-Alam network, affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Behrouz Kamalvandi, in an interview with this network on Sunday, June 7, also emphasized that interviewing nuclear scientists or "interrogation" and "things like that" are not included in the Additional Protocol. Mr. Kamalvandi said, "Now that we are moving towards the Additional Protocol, on one hand, there is a perception outside (the country) that they can enter anywhere whenever they want, which is not the case." He added, "As a result of this propaganda... there is concern inside that it might... happen." The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization said, "I think there is a middle ground that can alleviate this concern... One of the complex parts of the negotiations is what we are pursuing." Mr. Kamalvandi further emphasized, "Naturally, we can accept a general interpretation that all countries agree on, plus our own interpretation, not an Additional Protocol that anyone can have their own interpretation of outside the country." In recent weeks, the issue of access to Iran's military sites under the Additional Protocol of the NPT and interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists to resolve "remaining issues" between Iran and the IAEA has led to a wave of confrontations between the nuclear negotiating team and their opponents in Iran. Aladdin Boroujerdi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, has emphasized that even if the Additional Protocol is approved by the Iranian Parliament, visits to military sites and interviews with nuclear scientists will be "excluded" from the implementation of this protocol. However, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, said on Saturday, June 6, that "cherry-picking" some sections of this protocol is "not possible at all." Mr. Kamalvandi, in another part of his remarks, considered the purpose of "broad" interpretations of the Additional Protocol to be "to disrupt negotiations." He emphasized, "It is not the case that the protocol has given a general permit that they can visit anywhere at any time." The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization also stated that the Additional Protocol includes "routine, periodic, and even unannounced inspections." He added, "These inspections are also defined in such a way that an agreement is reached with the member country on how these time periods should be, but in the protocol, this is somewhat more." Based on the Additional Protocol of the NPT, which Iran has voluntarily accepted in the Lausanne nuclear agreement, IAEA inspectors will be allowed to conduct unannounced inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities whenever they deem necessary. However, Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, stated in May that Tehran has indicated it needs 24 days to issue permits for foreign inspectors to enter facilities. "They have visited Parchin multiple times." The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran also reported in his interview that IAEA inspectors have previously taken samples from the Parchin site "once 4 times and another time 7 or 8 times." He added, "In these 12 years of Iran's cooperation with the Agency, with all this access and their information, they must finally reach a conclusion." The IAEA reported on Friday, June 8, in a confidential report obtained by Reuters, that it still seeks Iran's accountability regarding its questions about access to the Parchin military base. The IAEA suspects that Iran has conducted tests of explosive triggers usable in the construction of nuclear bombs at the Parchin military site over the years. This international body, which monitors Iran's nuclear program, states that despite previous inspections and sampling at these facilities, it has obtained new information and must sample Parchin again, but Tehran has prevented the Agency's inspectors from visiting Parchin again in recent years.