IAEA Says Inspected Second Site in Iran
VIENNA (Dispatches) -- The UN nuclear agency has inspected the second of two former sites in Iran, as agreed with Tehran last month in a deal that ended a standoff over access, the agency said on Wednesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has not named either of the two undeclared sites but it has described activities it claims took place there in 2003.
"As part of an agreement with Iran to resolve safeguards implementation issues specified by the IAEA, the Agency this week conducted a complementary access at the second location in the country and took environmental samples,” the IAEA said in a statement.
Iran has denounced "attempts to open an endless process of verifying and cleaning-up of ever-continuing fabricated allegations”, strongly suggesting the IAEA was seeking access based on information the occupying regime of Israel claims it seized from Iran.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said last month the IAEA had promised that it would not ask for new inspections after visiting two locations in Iran in August.
IAEA officials, Ali Akbar Salehi said, have announced that they have no more demands after inspecting the two sites in Iran.
Iran announced in late August it would voluntarily allow the IAEA to visit the two sites following a visit to Tehran by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Grossi told IAEA board members he was hopeful Iran’s decision to voluntarily let inspectors into the two sites could lead to greater trust with Tehran.
Iran had been permitting IAEA inspectors in to current nuclear sites agreed upon in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, but had argued the other two sites dated from before the deal so there was no reason to grant access.
The IAEA in March identified the two sites as places where Iran possibly stored and/or used undeclared nuclear material or undertook nuclear-related activities without declaring them to international observers.
Iranian officials have said the country "acknowledges the IAEA’s right for asking legitimate questions, seeking transparency or demand of access for its mission,” but it "also emphasizes its right as a member state to request that the IAEA provide solid evidence and supporting documents and arguments in this regard.”
In the past, the UN nuclear agency has been given access to the sites it has demanded to visit, but after getting all questions sorted out it has raised new controversies later based on "fake” intelligence supplied by the occupying regime of Israel or terrorist groups such as the MKO.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has not named either of the two undeclared sites but it has described activities it claims took place there in 2003.
"As part of an agreement with Iran to resolve safeguards implementation issues specified by the IAEA, the Agency this week conducted a complementary access at the second location in the country and took environmental samples,” the IAEA said in a statement.
Iran has denounced "attempts to open an endless process of verifying and cleaning-up of ever-continuing fabricated allegations”, strongly suggesting the IAEA was seeking access based on information the occupying regime of Israel claims it seized from Iran.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said last month the IAEA had promised that it would not ask for new inspections after visiting two locations in Iran in August.
IAEA officials, Ali Akbar Salehi said, have announced that they have no more demands after inspecting the two sites in Iran.
Iran announced in late August it would voluntarily allow the IAEA to visit the two sites following a visit to Tehran by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Grossi told IAEA board members he was hopeful Iran’s decision to voluntarily let inspectors into the two sites could lead to greater trust with Tehran.
Iran had been permitting IAEA inspectors in to current nuclear sites agreed upon in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, but had argued the other two sites dated from before the deal so there was no reason to grant access.
The IAEA in March identified the two sites as places where Iran possibly stored and/or used undeclared nuclear material or undertook nuclear-related activities without declaring them to international observers.
Iranian officials have said the country "acknowledges the IAEA’s right for asking legitimate questions, seeking transparency or demand of access for its mission,” but it "also emphasizes its right as a member state to request that the IAEA provide solid evidence and supporting documents and arguments in this regard.”
In the past, the UN nuclear agency has been given access to the sites it has demanded to visit, but after getting all questions sorted out it has raised new controversies later based on "fake” intelligence supplied by the occupying regime of Israel or terrorist groups such as the MKO.