Iran Refuses To Comply (Daniel 8)

  

Iran envoy declines to commit to nuclear transparency measures

By Shadia Nasralla

VIENNA | Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:44am EDT

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear agency declined on Thursday to commit to nuclear transparency measures that were part of a preliminary deal Tehran and world powers reached in April, deflecting U.S. demands to implement such provisions.

The United States urged Iran to implement the so-called Additional Protocol, which allows more intrusive access to Iranian sites, and Code 3.1, which requires from Iran early notification of the construction of any new nuclear facilities.

“These are the issues still under discussion and I believe we should wait to see the final text… and before that, we cannot prejudge anything,” Reza Najafi told reporters.

He added that Iran and the powers could seal a final deal by their self-imposed June 30 deadline, despite lingering disputes over the capacity of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, the extent of U.N. inspections and sanctions relief for Tehran.

Iran has long denied Western suspicions that it has used its declared civilian nuclear energy programme as a front for developing the ability to make atom bombs. To prevent any such outcome, the powers want Iran to accept unfettered inspections.

Laura Kennedy, U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, told a session of the IAEA’s 35-nation governing board that it “remains critical for Iran to implement the provisions of Modified Code 3.1 … without delay”.

Kennedy also said it was important for Iran to implement the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which allows U.N. inspectors under specific circumstances to visit Iranian sites with as little notice as two hours’ notice.

The Additional Protocol also permits the U.N. watchdog to collect environment samples like soil that can yield information on nuclear activities years after they have taken place.

Kennedy further said Iran had still not resolved longstanding IAEA questions about the “possible military dimensions” (PMD), mainly before 2003, of its nuclear programme.

Najafi reiterated Tehran’s stance that some of the IAEA’s documents supporting concerns about PMD are intelligence fabrications. He also repeated that there will be little progress in the IAEA’s inquiry into Iran’s nuclear past unless the agency stops using these documents.

He referred to a case related to a former CIA officer who was convicted in January of leaking classified information to a reporter about a failed U.S. effort to undermine Iran’s nuclear programme, which it says is entirely peaceful.

“We can discuss new practical measures provided that the inauthentic documents and information would be put aside,” Najafi said. The IAEA has said it carefully reviews information provided for its investigations and takes nothing at face value.

Iran and the powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — reached a framework deal on April 2 in Switzerland and are seeking to strike a broader settlement by June 30 under which Iran would curb its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Iran Refuses Access to Military Sites (Dan 8:4)

  Larijani: No Foreigner Allowed Access to Military Sites

Al Manar
Local Editor

The Supreme Leader’s Top Aide Ali Akbar underlined that Iran will not allow access of foreigners to its sensitive military sites, state-run IRNA news agency reported.

“Iran will never let any foreigner have access to its military sites,” Ali Akbar Velayati told reporters on Monday.

He noted that the visits (by foreigners) to the Islamic Republic’s military sites are forbidden on the basis of the Leader’s very specific viewpoints.

“We won’t permit any stranger, either American or non-American, to visit the Islamic Republic’s military and sensitive centers,” he underlined.

His remarks came after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said in May that Iran will not allow the inspection of its military sites.

The Leader ruled out any request for interviews with Tehran’s nuclear scientists, and described it as a kind of “interrogation”.

“I would not let foreigners come (here) and talk to the Iranian nation’s beloved scientists… who have broadened this wide knowledge to this field,” he added.

Iran and Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) have been negotiating to hammer out a lasting accord that would end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

On April 2, the two sides reached a draft nuclear agreement after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June.

No Access To Iranian Military Nuclear Sites (Dan 8)

Iran rejects limited international access to military sites

ANKARA
May 28, 2015.
Reuters/Heinz-Peter Bader/Files

Iran will not allow even restricted outside access to its military sites under any nuclear accord with six powers, the deputy chief of its armed forces said on Friday, reaffirming Tehran’s tough stance on the issue as the deadline for a deal looms.

Access for U.N. nuclear inspectors to Iranian military sites and the pace and timing of sanctions relief for Tehran are among several major disputes that Iran and the powers need to resolve before the self-imposed June 30 deadline for a final deal.

“Any kind of inspection of Iran’s military sites, including managed and restricted access, is unacceptable,” Brigader General Massoud Jazayeri was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying.
Some senior Iranian negotiators had raised the possibility of some limited access, with Tehran in control of the process.

“Controlled and managed access (to the military sites) does not mean inspection,” Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said after arriving in Vienna on Thursday for another round of talks with officials from the six powers.

“We are trying to set some rules for managed access to non-nuclear sites,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

But Jazayeri’s comments reinforced the hard line long taken on the issue by both Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters, and by top military commanders.

“We will not allow any visits to military sites, whether they be limited, controlled, unfree or in any other form,” Jazayeri said. “Let’s avoid playing with words.”

Western powers have long suspected Iran of planning to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran denies any such intention and says its nuclear program has purely civilian aims.

The six powers — the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China — want the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit military sites to check on past activities that could indicate attempts to build an atomic bomb.

France has specifically warned against the blocking of a final nuclear settlement over the issue of granting access for inspectors to all installations, including military sites.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the six powers to refrain from making “excessive demands” on his country.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Iran Refuses To Comply (Daniel 8)

  

Iran envoy declines to commit to nuclear transparency measures

By Shadia Nasralla

VIENNA | Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:44am EDT

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear agency declined on Thursday to commit to nuclear transparency measures that were part of a preliminary deal Tehran and world powers reached in April, deflecting U.S. demands to implement such provisions.

The United States urged Iran to implement the so-called Additional Protocol, which allows more intrusive access to Iranian sites, and Code 3.1, which requires from Iran early notification of the construction of any new nuclear facilities.

“These are the issues still under discussion and I believe we should wait to see the final text… and before that, we cannot prejudge anything,” Reza Najafi told reporters.

He added that Iran and the powers could seal a final deal by their self-imposed June 30 deadline, despite lingering disputes over the capacity of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, the extent of U.N. inspections and sanctions relief for Tehran.

Iran has long denied Western suspicions that it has used its declared civilian nuclear energy programme as a front for developing the ability to make atom bombs. To prevent any such outcome, the powers want Iran to accept unfettered inspections.

Laura Kennedy, U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, told a session of the IAEA’s 35-nation governing board that it “remains critical for Iran to implement the provisions of Modified Code 3.1 … without delay”.

Kennedy also said it was important for Iran to implement the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which allows U.N. inspectors under specific circumstances to visit Iranian sites with as little notice as two hours’ notice.

The Additional Protocol also permits the U.N. watchdog to collect environment samples like soil that can yield information on nuclear activities years after they have taken place.

Kennedy further said Iran had still not resolved longstanding IAEA questions about the “possible military dimensions” (PMD), mainly before 2003, of its nuclear programme.

Najafi reiterated Tehran’s stance that some of the IAEA’s documents supporting concerns about PMD are intelligence fabrications. He also repeated that there will be little progress in the IAEA’s inquiry into Iran’s nuclear past unless the agency stops using these documents.

He referred to a case related to a former CIA officer who was convicted in January of leaking classified information to a reporter about a failed U.S. effort to undermine Iran’s nuclear programme, which it says is entirely peaceful.

“We can discuss new practical measures provided that the inauthentic documents and information would be put aside,” Najafi said. The IAEA has said it carefully reviews information provided for its investigations and takes nothing at face value.

\Iran and the powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — reached a framework deal on April 2 in Switzerland and are seeking to strike a broader settlement by June 30 under which Iran would curb its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Iran Prepares For Israeli Nuclear Site Attacks (Daniel 8)

Iran Stages Counter-Sabotage Drills at Nuclear Facility

February 01, 2015 – 16:07

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran successfully conducted a set of intrusive counter-sabotage drills at its Fordo uranium enrichment site near the central city of Qom.

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) staged the exercises, codenamed ‘Mersad’, on Friday without prior notice.

Mersad drills were conducted under the direction of the AEOI Chief Ali Akbar Salehi.

The drills were carried out based on the worst-case scenario to upgrade the skills and preparedness of the Iranian experts, and to increase their rapid reaction capability to repel threats.

According to the AEOI, increasing the level of preparedness in Fordo Nuclear Facility can be regarded as one of the most significant and effective measures in the history of the country’s passive defense.

Located in the central province of Qom, Fordo is buried deep underground to protect it against any enemy attacks.

In late 2011, the plant at Fordo began producing uranium enriched to 20 percent fissile purity.

But since January 2014, Iran has been producing lower-level uranium with an enrichment level of up to 5 percent after it signed an interim six-month deal with six world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) in Geneva.

Diplomats from Iran and the Group 5+1 are now in talks to hammer out a final agreement to end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.