Iran's Reaction to Allegations of 'Purchasing Equipment for Arak Reactor'

The spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization responded to a report by Foreign Policy, stating that purchasing equipment for the Arak heavy water reactor does not violate Iran's agreement with the P5+1 group in Geneva, emphasizing that the agreement pertains to 'not installing' equipment, not purchasing it. He also announced that a new round of nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 countries will begin next week at the expert level and will continue at various levels in the coming weeks. According to ISNA, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said on Tuesday, December 9, 'I have no information regarding any purchases made by Iran, but if any equipment has been purchased, it does not contradict our commitments under the Geneva agreement.' He added, 'Based on what has been reported, it is not a violation of the Joint Action Plan by Iran, as Iran has committed not to install major equipment during both the initial six-month implementation period and the two extensions.' Kamalvandi's statements are a reaction to a report by Foreign Policy, which cited unnamed U.S. officials accusing Iran of violating its commitments under the nuclear agreement with the P5+1. According to this report, on November 7, the U.S. informed the UN Security Council's Iran sanctions monitoring committee that Iranians have increased their efforts to 'illegally procure' parts needed for the Arak heavy water reactor, which could potentially produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. Kamalvandi also reported that cooperation between Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on new issues is currently halted, and the introduction of new topics is contingent upon finalizing two remaining issues from the third phase of cooperation. He added, 'One of these relates to strong explosions in Marivan. As Iran's representative at the IAEA stated, the agency must specify the exact location it is interested in within the Marivan area, and we are waiting for this announcement from the agency, as this area covers two thousand square kilometers and the agency's point of interest must be precisely identified.' He emphasized, 'The names provided seem to be fake and not Iranian, but rather written with Zionist pronunciations, so there are many issues, and it must be clarified for Iran that the documents are not fake.' Reza Najafi, Iran's representative at the IAEA, stated on Thursday, November 20, to the agency's Board of Governors that Tehran is willing to allow inspections of Marivan to prove that the claims about nuclear explosion tests in the area are baseless and erroneous. IAEA spokesperson Gill Tudor said on Friday, November 21, that the issue of visiting the Marivan area is not as simple as Iran claims, but the agency will discuss this matter with Iran. The spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization continued on Tuesday, stating that IAEA inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities are conducted based on 'previous procedures' and have not changed. Kamalvandi clarified, 'Of course, the agency has previously wanted to conduct multiple and extensive inspections or even establish a permanent office in Iran, but Iran has not agreed. Nevertheless, inspections continue daily within the framework of comprehensive safeguards.' On Thursday, December 4, the Associated Press reported that members of the Obama administration told several congressional representatives that the U.S. has secured significant concessions from Iran, including the Islamic Republic's commitment to more inspections of nuclear facilities and the neutralization of larger amounts of Iran's uranium resources. The state-run news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, December 6, citing a 'source close to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team,' that this report was denied. In this context, IRNA: Iran's refusal to test new centrifuges was denied. Britain: No unreasonable concessions were made to Iran to reach a nuclear agreement.