Iran says will cooperate with IAEA, but warns of inspection risks
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran plans to keep working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), although a new law passed by the Iranian parliament places limits on inspections.
'Any future inspection of nuclear sites will need approval from the Supreme National Security Council,' Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran, according to Reuters.
He also said that some nuclear sites have been damaged in past attacks and may be unsafe. 'The risk of spreading radioactive materials and the risk of exploding leftover munitions are serious,' state media quoted him as saying.
'For us, IAEA inspectors approaching nuclear sites has both a security aspect, and the safety of the inspectors themselves is a matter that must be examined,' Araghchi said.
He explained that cooperation with the IAEA has not stopped but will now be controlled by the country's top security body. 'The IAEA's requests for continued monitoring in Iran will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the Council, with consideration to safety and security issues,' he said.
Araghchi also repeated Iran's position that it would not accept any nuclear agreement that blocks its right to enrich uranium. His comment follows a report by Axios that claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin had supported a proposal to prevent Iran from enriching uranium. However, Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted an unnamed source saying Putin had not made such a suggestion.
Speaking to the state news agency IRNA, Araghchi said Iran is still thinking about the details of any possible new nuclear talks with the United States. 'We are in no hurry to enter into unconsidered negotiations,' he said. 'We want to be sure that the US will not again use military force.'
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