France: We Will Not Accept Final Agreement with Iran Without Access to Military Sites

The French Foreign Minister has stated that his country will not support any nuclear agreement with Iran unless it allows access to all of Iran's nuclear facilities, including military sites. According to Reuters, Laurent Fabius told members of the French Parliament on Wednesday, June 6, "If the nuclear agreement does not explicitly mention the possibility of inspections of Iranian facilities, including military sites, France will not accept this agreement." These remarks come as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has ruled out inspections of Iran's military sites, with one commander of the Revolutionary Guards stating that inspections of these sites, under any pretext, are "equivalent to espionage." Nevertheless, the French Foreign Minister emphasized his country's position and called on other member countries of the 1+5 group to adopt a similar stance to Paris. Mr. Fabius stated, "We welcome an agreement, but not one that leaves Iran free to acquire a nuclear bomb. This is France's independent and peace-seeking position." Previously, Yukiya Amano, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had also noted that visits to Iran's military sites should be part of any potential nuclear agreement. According to him, Tehran has agreed to implement the Additional Protocol to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which allows for unannounced visits to nuclear facilities and, if necessary, Iran's military sites. Iran and the 1+5 group, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany, began the fifth round of negotiations today, Wednesday, to draft a comprehensive nuclear agreement. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign ministers, will discuss with Helga Schmid, the Deputy Coordinator of the European Union's foreign policy, during this round of negotiations. Simultaneously, negotiations at the expert level will also take place. This round of negotiations is expected to last three days. In this context, Araqchi denied the issue of "managed inspections of military sites" and stated that regarding the Additional Protocol, nothing but the legal process will be accepted. A French diplomat indicated that the likelihood of a final agreement with Iran by the end of June is low.