Nuclear Security Experts: Details of Inspections at Parchin Site Should Be Released

Reuters reported on Thursday that several nuclear security experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and global powers have called for the details of inspections at Iran's Parchin military facility to be made public. These experienced experts in international arms inspections warned that the lack of disclosure could undermine the credibility of the IAEA. The report mentioned David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, and Olli Heinonen, former deputy director general of the IAEA, as two of the critics. Albright stated that 'whatever the outcome of the sampling [from the Parchin site], the secrecy of [the inspections] makes it harder to assess how it was conducted.' Heinonen emphasized the 'unjustifiable' nature of this issue, adding, 'This is a very unnatural approach by the agency. Unless there is a very specific, exclusive, security or economic reason, there is no justification for secrecy.' Meanwhile, the IAEA insists on the legal necessity of keeping the details of its agreement with Tehran confidential. Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, supported the agency's view, stating that releasing these details under pressure could damage countries' trust in the IAEA. Iran and the IAEA reached a separate understanding on how to inspect suspicious nuclear and non-nuclear facilities in the context of the nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and global powers. Some reports indicate that the Parchin military site is set to be inspected and sampled by Iranian experts. The agency and several countries suspect that Iran has conducted nuclear weapons-related tests at this site in the past. Clarifying this issue is one of the IAEA's conditions for confirming the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program. Previously, Reuters reported that during the sampling at the Parchin military center, IAEA inspectors would also be present alongside Iranian specialists. According to this report, 'both Iran preserves its dignity and the IAEA ensures that the inspections will be in accordance with its strict regulations.'