IAEA must refrain from politicizing Iran’s case: Nuclear chief
Iran’s nuclear chief has urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refrain from politicizing the country’s nuclear file, saying Tehran has approved 120 inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog to enter the country.
The IAEA has criticized Iran’s decision to withdraw the accreditation of several of its inspectors, announced in September, saying the move “directly and seriously affected” the agency’s work.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Wednesday cabinet session, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said some of those inspectors have not come to Iran for years.
“And secondly, according to Article 9 of the statute, we are entitled to accept or reject the inspectors that are introduced,” he said.
He further explained that the basis of the IAEA’s duties regarding Iran is the 2015 nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
“Iran’s actions are carried out within the framework of the Safeguards Agreement, and the International Atomic Energy Agency also supervises these activities,” Eslami added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the AEOI chief said the excavation operation for the main reactor building of the Karun nuclear power plant will be carried out in the coming days, followed by the concrete pouring phase.