Iran's Readiness to Cooperate with the Agency on Possible Military Dimensions

A senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team has described the visit of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Tehran as 'good and successful' and emphasized Iran's readiness to cooperate with the Agency regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, stating, 'We are very hopeful that progress will be made in resolving the issue of possible military dimensions.' According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Abbas Araqchi, a member of the Iranian negotiation team, stressed on Friday, July 12, 'We are ready to cooperate with the Agency on the issue of possible military dimensions and to expedite this cooperation to reach a clear conclusion on this matter.' Araqchi referred to the issue of possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program as an 'old' and 'chronic' discussion and said, 'Now is a good opportunity for these issues and claims to be resolved in a calmer atmosphere.' Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA, met with President Hassan Rouhani and Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on Thursday, July 11. After returning to Vienna, Amano assessed the results of his trip to Iran, stating that the parties have reached a better mutual understanding on some issues, but more work still needs to be done. The IAEA had previously announced in a press release that the focus of Amano's discussions in Tehran would be on 'how to expedite the resolution of all important issues related to Iran's nuclear program, including clarifying the issue of the existence of possible military dimensions [in this program].' Meanwhile, the newspaper Kayhan, in its issue on Saturday, July 13, noted that the issue of clarifying the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program by the 5+1 group 'has been maintained as a precondition for the suspension of sanctions.' In recent months, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and Iranian military officials have repeatedly expressed their strong opposition to access to Iran's military sites based on the Additional Protocol of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and also to interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists to resolve 'remaining issues' between Iran and the IAEA. Additionally, according to a resolution passed by the Iranian Parliament in the 'Obligation of the Government to Preserve Nuclear Achievements' plan, which was approved by the Guardian Council and became law, 'Access to military, security, and sensitive non-nuclear sites, documents, and scientists is prohibited and the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council must be observed.' However, the Kayhan newspaper reported on Saturday that 'given the current information and reports,' the final text of the agreement between Iran and the 5+1 group has been written based on the Lausanne framework and 'no fundamental changes have occurred.' According to this newspaper, regarding the IAEA's inspections of 'suspect' sites in Iran, 'only a change in wording has occurred, and the issue of access to documents, locations, individuals, and military equipment has not been excluded in any way.'