Lawmakers Reject Any Inspection of Military Sites

Lawmakers said Iran's military centers cannot be visited by the International Atomic Energy Organization, rejecting the remarks by US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley that the US wants to know if the UN atomic watchdog plans to inspect the sites to verify Tehran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

In a recent talk with ICANA, Mohammad Javad Jamali, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said, "The IAEA is not allowed to visit any military center in Iran. Tehran will never accept the inspection of our military installations."

Pointing to the conclusion of the study of the so-called possible military dimension (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program, he described the proposals as part of the US pressure "to misuse JCPOA."

JCPOA stands for the agreement's formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

In December 2015, IAEA's governing board voted overwhelmingly, months after JCPOA was signed, in favor of a resolution regarding "the past and present outstanding issues of Iran's nuclear program" that effectively closed the PMD case.

In his final assessment, the agency said, "It has not found any credible indications of the diversion of nuclear material in connection with the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program. As is the case with all my reports, the assessment is factual, technically sound and balanced," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said at the time.

  Breach of Nat'l Sovereignty

Jamali said Iran has declared many times that it will not budge an inch regarding its security issues, saying that "inspection of military sites amounts to a breach of national sovereignty."

In the same vein, lawmaker Morteza Saffari said IAEA cannot visit military sites, adding that the US is looking for excuses to undermine the deal.

"IAEA can only visit nuclear sites. The inspection of military sites, under the US pressure, is out of the realm of the agency," he said.

The lawmaker stressed that Iran has had all his nuclear activities monitored by the UN watchdog, noting that the agency has always confirmed Tehran's compliance with the deal.

Saffari noted that in its previous reports, IAEA has not reported any diversion in Iran's nuclear program, stressing that "they cannot call their own report into question just because the US says so."

Since assuming office seven months ago, Donald Trump, a businessman-turned-president who has branded the deal "the worst in history of deal-making", is itching to walk out of the deal.

Under US law, the US State Department must notify Congress every 90 days of Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. The next deadline is in mid-October.

Trump has twice signed off on such certifications, but did so grudgingly in July. He then told the Wall Street Journal that he "would be surprised if they were in compliance" when the next review is due.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes the Iran nuclear deal is "one of the most important diplomatic achievements in our search for, for peace and stability," UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

"Everyone involved needs to do its utmost to protect and support that agreement," Dujarric told reporters.