Iran Calls IAEA Report on New Construction in Parchin 'Ridiculous'

Iran's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticized a part of the agency's report regarding new construction at the Parchin military site, calling it 'ridiculous.' On Thursday, September 5, the agency announced in a confidential report that through satellite images, it observed the presence of vehicles, equipment, and possibly construction materials at one of the Parchin locations. The information adds that a new building has been constructed alongside an existing one. The agency stated that this construction began last June. Reza Najafi, Iran's representative, criticized this part of the agency's report in an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), stating: 'It has been claimed that a small section has been added to a building near the site claimed by the agency in Parchin, which has no relevance to the agency. Iran does not need the agency's permission to construct at its own sites, so why should the agency monitor it with satellite images?' He also criticized what he called 'baseless allegations known as PMD (Possible Military Dimensions)' regarding Iran's nuclear program, saying: 'The agency has once again repeated this issue in a small part of the report... The repetition of this section not only does not add credibility to previous baseless claims but also indicates the ineffectiveness of this part of the agency's report.' Western intelligence agencies claim that Iran has engaged in military-nuclear tests under the guise of its nuclear activities to acquire the necessary knowledge to build a nuclear bomb. The agency states that Iran must provide documents related to its past activities to verify the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. Access for inspectors to the Parchin military complex is another request from the agency to investigate the mentioned claims. Tehran has repeatedly denied these accusations but has also prevented the agency from inspecting Parchin. However, according to a 'roadmap' signed on July 14 by Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, and Yukiya Amano, the agency's director general, Tehran agreed to provide the requested documents to the agency. The agency's director general confirmed on September 3 that Iran provided a significant amount of information on August 15, but it is still too early to comment on its novelty. Yukiya Amano is expected to receive the necessary information from Iran by October 15 and to present his report to the IAEA Board of Governors by December 15. If this report is positive, it will pave the way for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached on July 14 in Vienna between Iran and six world powers. Under the Vienna agreement, Iran will suspend or reduce many of its activities in exchange for the lifting or suspension of global sanctions against it.