Iran: IAEA 'under political influence'
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Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali-Akbar Salehi said Monday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was under political influence in its reports on Iran's nuclear program.
"It appears that the Agency is suffering from moral authority and credibility crisis", Salehi was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying in Vienna where he is attending the 54th IAEA general conference.
"At present, based on our Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, all of my country's nuclear installations are subject to the Agency's routine monitoring and inspections," Salehi added.
"Since 2003, more than 5,000 man-days of inspections have been conducted. This is unprecedented in the history of the IAEA," he said.
"However, in spite of all the above conclusive evidences and in addition to the sincerity and the cooperation extended by my country till now, unfortunately, the Agency has unfortunately oppositely reacted," the report quoted him as saying.
IAEA's recent report on Iran's nuclear activities "do not accord with the norms and procedures of the Agency's mandate and also are not based on impartiality and fairness, thus leaving no room but to reflect the notion of political influence," he further added.
Earlier this month, the IAEA said in a report that Iran had been continuing its uranium enrichment activities despite UN sanctions, calling on Iran to cooperate more with the IAEA to clarify the intent of its nuclear program, including providing access to all sites, equipment, personnel and documents requested by the agency.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said earlier that Iran refused to receive the agency's experienced inspectors which meant to hamper the IAEA's work.
Last week, the United States and its western allies accused Iran of trying to intimidate the UN atomic watchdog, as Tehran barred in June two IAEA inspectors from entering the country.
However, Tehran said that the inspectors acted against their regulations by contributing to "unreal" reports of Iran's nuclear activities.
Also, in a live interview with Iran's local satellite Press TV on Monday, Salehi said the IAEA, in order to restore its authority and credibility, should prove "impartiality" and "objectivity" in its reports on Iran's nuclear program.
IAEA should not give in to the Western pressure which is seeking to influence IAEA reports, he said.
On Sunday, Iranian lawmaker Hossein Sobhani-Nia criticized the recent reports by the IAEA on Iran, saying the agency should observe impartiality.
"As we have already announced, Iran has had very good cooperation with the IAEA even beyond the agency's regulations. We expect the IAEA to observe complete impartiality in its statements, " Sobhani-Nia was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Meanwhile, Salehi on Monday called on IAEA to stick to its decision to inspect Israel's nuclear facilities.
The West is seeking to force IAEA to retreat from its decision to conduct an inspection on Israel's nuclear capabilities, Salehi told Press TV.
The 54th IAEA general conference opened in Vienna on Monday with the implementation of safeguards in the Middle East high on its agenda.
In the opening statement of the conference, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano noted that no progress had been achieved on the development of safeguards agreements toward establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region.
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