- Iranians holding Ashura mourning for Imam Hussein
- Third step: Iran officially informs EU of plan to expand nuclear R&D
- Iran expands nuclear R&D program: Rouhani
- Iran goes ahead in space tech, despite US sanctions: ISA
- Resistance Front undermining Israeli regime power: Top commander
- Iran: 7 crew members of detained UK ship freed
- US addiction to sanction threaten its power: Iran’s Zarif
- Dutch role in 2007 Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear site under scrutiny: Iraian FM Spox.
- Iran: ‘Sustainable Security 2019’ kicks off in Caspian Sea
- Iran’s Zarif leaves Tehran for Moscow
- Shiraz University ranked 1st in liver transplantation: Iranian health official
- Japan’s Abe to meet Iran’s president to discuss easing tension in region
- Downing of US spy drone shattered war threats against Iran: Top IRGC commander
- IAEO head reports development of first ion-therapy hospital in west of Asia
- Iranian Taekwondo team wins 2019 World Cup championship
- US sanctions failed to force Iran to buckle: Report
- Crew fixing Iran oil tanker broken down in Red Sea
- As Iranians hold nerves, US seeks to scare off trade
- Leader expresses concern about Kashmir, urges India to follow fair policy toward Muslim-majority region
- Iran saffron exports down due to smuggling, government restrictions: Exporter
- Iran FM warns US against ‘serious miscalculation’ in Persian Gulf
- Iran’s resistance policy led to release of oil tanker: MP
- Iran in reverse brain drain as top students come home in rising numbers
- Iran official calls for compensation for tanker seizure
- Iran hails N Korea for standing against ‘unilateral’ US demands
- Shia Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Ghadir
- North Korea praises Iran’s anti-US struggle
- Zarif says to meet French president Friday
- Iranian court hearing case of UK oil tanker
- Over half of Japanese voters oppose joining US-led anti-Iran coalition in Persian Gulf: Poll
- IME trade ups by 21 percent in July
- Finland backs INSTEX in defiance of US
- US anti-Iran policy in high seas harms Europeans: LA Times
- Iran, China confer on Syria
- Iran, Finland share views on Persian Gulf dialogue forum: Zarif
- Iran warns US against seizure of oil tanker
- Iraq eager to benefit from Iranian Police’s experience
- Iran planning 3rd step to reduce nuclear commitments: Spokesman
- Leader grants clemency to over 1,000 Iranian inmates
- Registration for Arbaeen Pilgrimage to begin in Iran on Friday
- Iran, Iraq agree to reopen Khosravi border crossing
- Iran deplores suicide attack at Kabul wedding hall
- Iran to hold int'l hand-woven carpets expo
- Zarif meets with Iran-Kuwait Friendship Group members
- Adrian Darya oil tanker not under any sanctions, says Iran envoy
- ‘Iran to stay in nuclear deal as long as its interests are met’
- India envoy happy with positive trend of trade with Iran
- Iran’s annual export of white meat tops 2.5m tons: Minister
- Iranian scientist discovers new state of matter
- Iran, Japan diplomats discuss bilateral ties
- Iran, Ansarullah, European representatives Yemen developments
- ‘Iran to become self-sufficient in producing aircraft engines'
- US issues seizure warrant for Iranian supertanker 'Grace 1'
- Neanderthal tooth unearthed near Iran’s Zagros mountain
- Iran’s Zarif due in Kuwait on Saturday
- US faces humiliating defeat after Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker: Envoy
- Spokesman rejects claim on Iran’s commitment in exchange for tanker release
- Zarif reacts to release of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar
- Israel, UAE engaged in secret talks on Iran arranged by US: Report
- US threatens visa ban as Iranian-operated tanker sets to sail from Gibraltar
- Enemies must factor Iran's global power in their calculations: IRGC's chief commander
- Trump’s administration conflicting messages to Iran baffle go-betweens: Report
- Gibraltar releases Iran-operated tanker despite US pressure
TEHRAN, October 1- A senior Russian official has dismissed a recent US claim that Moscow is trying to “shield” Iran from inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which Washington has been pushing to widen to Iran’s military sites.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Back 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 a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
That push failed when the IAEA 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, the US ambassador, accused Moscow of trying to “shield” Iran from inspections. She did not refer to Russia by name, however.
“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, who has been a loud advocate of US President Donald Trump’s tough line on the JCPOA.
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 short-sighted.
The IAEA has no reason to request access to military sites in Iran or any other country, he said, according to IRNA.
Ulyanov also said that Haley’s Thursday comments proved that the US was attempting to impose its opinion on the IAEA as well as the 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 Trump administration has been opposed to the Iran deal, which was negotiated by the former US administration. Trump himself has verbally attacked the deal numerous times and is reportedly planning to refuse to certify Iranian compliance at a mid-October deadline under an American law.
But 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.
All other signatories, including European countries, have stressed that the deal should be sustained and have cautioned against a potential US withdrawal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that Europe and Asian powers had to refrain from going along with the US if Washington decided to scrap the JCPOA and re-impose nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.
On Tuesday, Ulyanov, the Russian Foreign Ministry official, had expressed bewilderment at the US posture toward the deal.
“There are no nuclear weapons in Iran. Nor are there any chemical or bacteriological ones. No such charges have ever been addressed to Iran. So what’s the problem?” he said.
The JCPOA was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — in July 2015 and took effect in January 2016, a year before Trump took office.
Your Comment