Whether the global atomic watchdog is politically compromised has been questioned by Iran’s nuclear chief and other senior officials, as Western powers, backed by Israel, introduce a resolution to censure Iran over its nuclear program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needs to put a stop to “infiltration by Iran’s enemies” in its operations, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said in an interview on Monday.
In reference to IAEA reports detailing Iran’s nuclear program that are regularly leaked to Western media, Eslami said, “How is it possible that confidential reports of an international organization are published in the media even before the official recipients read them?”
Those reports have said that the agency is not satisfied with answers Iran has provided to the agency’s probes of three sites in Turquzabad, Varamin and Marivan where nuclear particles dating back several decades have been found.
Iran has provided “accurate” answers, and the IAEA has so far lacked the “will” required to declare Iran’s answers convincing, Eslami indicated.
Eslami added that the probes were based on “fake documents and accounts” provided by Iran’s enemies, led by Israel, and that Iran had offered its voluntary cooperation.
As Iran accounted for only a small amount of global nuclear activity, but had to undergo what he said was over a quarter of all agency monitoring activity, which amounts to hundreds of inspections per year, the nuclear chief added that the agency’s focus on Iran was discriminatory.
The inspections are necessary to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, Western powers claim. These claims have been categorically denied by Iran.
