TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday dismissed US demands for the inspection of Iranian military sites by the UN nuclear watchdog, shrugging off a request by America’s ambassador to the UN as only a “dream.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday dismissed the idea of inspections at its military sites, reportedly floated by the United States, saying they were not required under a nuclear deal with world powers.
“Our commitments to the world are clear... our relations with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) are defined by rules, not by the US,” Rouhani said in a televised address.
He said Iran was still committed to the nuclear agreement, but “we do not accept bullying.
“I see it as unlikely that the IAEA will accept the request for inspections, but even if they do, we will not,” he said.
Iran’s government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht told reporters that the demand by Ambassador Nikki Haley wasn’t worth any attention. Iran will not accept any inspection of its sites and “especially our military sites.”
In remarks broadcast by state TV, he said the sites and all information about them are “classified.”
Haley last week met IAEA chief Yukiya Amano and discussed accessing Iranian military sites in order to ensure Iran’s compliance with the 2015 JCPOA deal that Iran forged with world powers.
The landmark accord saw international sanctions eased in exchange for stringent controls on Iran’s nuclear program and closer IAEA inspections.
The inspections are designed to prevent nuclear material being moved from nuclear centers to other areas, including military bases.
The IAEA has repeatedly reported that Iran is in compliance with the deal.
Rouhani said Iran had the support of Europe and other signatories, and added that US President Donald Trump would struggle to muster support for tearing it up.
“The US is in the most difficult situation in its history for creating unity against us and I think it’s not possible for it to do so now,” Rouhani said.
“Twenty-eight EU countries, which are America’s allies, clearly say we are committed to the JCPOA,” he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his commitment to the deal and said there was “no alternative.”
Ali Akbar Velayati, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s foreign policy adviser, also dismissed the reported demand for inspections as “sloganeering by the new US administration for domestic consumption.”
“The Americans should take the dream of visiting our military sites, using the pretext of the JCPOA or any other pretext, to their graves,” he said.
Despite the pushback, the deal remains under threat.
The US has strongly criticized recent Iranian missile tests and imposed new, non-nuclear sanctions — prompting Rouhani to hint in mid-August that Iran could easily walk away from the deal “within hours” if forced to do so.
Haley responded that new US sanctions against Iran relate to Iran’s support for “worldwide terrorism” and other destabilising actions in the region, and said Tehran could not “use the nuclear deal to hold the world hostage.”
Trump is due to notify Congress in October about whether Iran is adhering to the deal.
Iran rejects US demand for UN inspection of its military sites
Iran rejects US demand for UN inspection of its military sites
Trump warns Iran of ‘very traumatic’ outcome if no nuclear deal
- Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened Iran Thursday with “very traumatic” consequences if it fails to make a nuclear deal — but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was skeptical about the quality of any such agreement.
Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month” from Washington’s negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters.
“This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don’t make a deal.”
Trump — who is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to pressure Iran — recalled the US military strikes he ordered on Tehran’s nuclear facilities during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in July last year.
“We’ll see if we can get a deal with them, and if we can’t, we’ll have to go to phase two. Phase two will be very tough for them,” Trump said.
Netanyahu had traveled to Washington to push Trump to take a harder line in the Iran nuclear talks, particularly on including the Islamic Republic’s arsenal of ballistic missiles.
But the Israeli and US leaders apparently remained at odds, with Trump saying after their meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he had insisted the negotiations should continue.
- ‘General skepticism’ -
Netanyahu said in Washington on Thursday before departing for Israel that Trump believed he was laying the ground for a deal.
“He believes that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time when they didn’t reach an agreement, may create the conditions for achieving a good deal,” Netanyahu said, according to a video statement from his office.
But the Israeli premier added: “I will not hide from you that I expressed general skepticism regarding the quality of any agreement with Iran.”
Any deal “must include the elements that are very important from our perspective,” Netanyahu continued, listing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups such as the Palestinian movement Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It’s not just the nuclear issue,” he said.
Despite their differences on Iran, Trump signaled his strong personal support for Netanyahu as he criticized Israeli President Isaac Herzog for rejecting his request to pardon the prime minister on corruption charges.
“You have a president that refuses to give him a pardon. I think that man should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly hinted at potential US military action against Iran following its deadly crackdown on protests last month, even as Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.
The last round of talks between the two foes was cut short by Israel’s war with Iran and the US strikes.
So far, Iran has rejected expanding the new talks beyond the issue of its nuclear program. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, and has said it will not give in to “excessive demands” on the subject.
