A senior Russian official dismissed the US claim that Moscow is trying to "shield" Iran from inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In August, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley attempted to convince the IAEA to request access to Iranian military sites, in what was generally viewed as an attempt to undermine the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. That push failed when the UN nuclear agency said Iran was in full compliance with the deal and the agency had no reason to request access to Iranian military sites.
Then, the US began invoking Section T of an annex to the JCPOA to justify a push for access to Iranian military sites. Section T bans any development activity on nuclear weapons technology and restricts dual-use items that could be used to research warhead design but gives no jurisdiction to the IAEA on the matter.
Russia, which is a party to the deal, has thus been referring to the text of Section T to remind the US that the IAEA has no authority for inspections under that particular provision.
On Thursday, Haley accused Moscow of trying to "shield" Iran from inspections.
"It appears that some countries are attempting to shield Iran from even more inspections. Without inspections, the Iran deal is an empty promise," said Haley. Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation and Weapons Control Department, responded on Friday by saying that Washington's accusation against Moscow was shortsighted.
"The IAEA has no reason to request access to military sites in Iran," he was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Ulyanov said Haley's comments proved that the US was attempting to impose its opinion on the IAEA as well as other signatories to the nuclear accord.
The IAEA, he said, is permitted to request access to Iran's non-nuclear sites, but it has to provide reasons for such requests.
The IAEA is the official institution tasked with certifying Iranian compliance and it has repeatedly confirmed that Iran is adhering to its obligations under the deal.
