Iran to continue trust-building with IAEA
Ahead of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation’s visit to Iran, an Iranian lawmaker says Tehran will continue to pursue the confidence-building policy in its cooperation with the agency.
Mehdi Mehdizadeh said Saturday that confidence building would be the foundation of negotiations with the IAEA team, adding that Iran will restate during the talks that its activities are peaceful and civilian and the country does not seek to produce military weapons.
A high-ranking IAEA delegation is scheduled to begin a three-day trip to Iran. The team, led by the IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts and the agency’s number two Rafael Grossi, will arrive in Tehran on Sunday upon an invitation from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
The visit is aimed at holding talks within the framework of the IAEA article of association to bolster cooperation between the two sides. The UN atomic agency’s team has no plan to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Mehdizadeh, who is a member of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said while IAEA nuclear inspectors may publish information, “contrary to existing realities,” about Tehran’s nuclear activities after the talks, Iran has acted within the framework of the agency regulations.
He went to say that the issue of leaking the names of Iranian nuclear scientists will be another important topic of discussions with agency inspectors.
Iran accuses the UN nuclear supervisory body of leaking the names of nuclear scientists, making them potential targets for the secret services of the country’s enemies. Just recently Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was assassinated after meeting with IAEA inspectors.
MR/PKH/HGH
