Valiati: No Permission Will Be Granted for Visits to Iran's Military Facilities

Ali Akbar Velayati, the international affairs advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, dismissed reports about Donald Trump's efforts for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of Iran's 'suspicious' military facilities as 'nonsense and exaggeration,' stating, 'Under no circumstances will Americans be allowed to visit Iran's military sites.' According to the IRIB news agency, on Saturday, August 5, he emphasized that these facilities are 'part of the security perimeter' of the Islamic Republic of Iran and that 'they are neither allowed to do such a thing nor do they dare to violate Iran's security perimeter.' He added, 'Americans gain nothing from their nonsense and exaggerations other than losing their reputation on the international stage.' The Associated Press had previously reported that senior U.S. officials indicated that Trump was attempting to conduct inspections of Iran's 'suspicious' military sites. According to this report, Iran's rejection of the inspection request will influence Trump's approach to the future of the JCPOA. These senior U.S. officials also stated that Trump is seeking dialogue with European countries to establish a new agreement that could prevent the development of Iran's nuclear program even after the expiration of the JCPOA. The Trump administration views the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran's nuclear and missile programs as a threat to the stability of the Middle East and against the security of its allies in the region. Iran describes these concerns as baseless. Trump has repeatedly called the Vienna nuclear agreement one of the worst deals in history before and after his election, stating that if it were solely up to him, he would have announced Iran's non-compliance with the JCPOA 180 days prior. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Bob Corker has stated that the U.S. does not want to be blamed for the collapse of the JCPOA as it wants to maintain its allies' support. The inspection of the Parchin military facility to find answers regarding the potential military dimensions of Iran's nuclear file, known as PMD, was one of the contentious issues during the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group. The Associated Press reported on August 19, 2015, that in a confidential agreement between Iran and the IAEA, Tehran was allowed to use its own experts for inspections of the Parchin facility. Nearly a month later, Reuters reported that during the sampling, IAEA inspectors would also be present alongside Iranian specialists. Subsequently, the spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced that Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA, had made a 'courtesy visit' to the Parchin facility on September 20, 2015. Ultimately, the IAEA Board of Governors closed the PMD case on December 16, 2015, in a special session after the Director General's report. However, critics of the JCPOA today argue that the PMD case was not thoroughly examined and closed, leaving lingering questions that the Trump administration should pursue. Among them, Olli Heinonen, former deputy director general of the IAEA, told Radio Farda, 'The PMD case was not genuinely closed. It was a political decision. The Board of Governors can announce whatever it wants. But there are still unanswered questions, and actions taken to close the case were contrary to the usual process of the Agency.' Conducting inspections of Iranian facilities under the Vienna nuclear agreement has a complex mechanism and cannot be initiated by a single country's request. According to Article 78 of this agreement, if alternative inspection methods do not address concerns, and Iran does not agree within two weeks of the IAEA's request, the matter must be raised in the JCPOA Commission, where five out of eight members, including Iran, must agree to the inspection request. If this agreement is reached, Iran has three days to take the necessary actions in this regard.