Iran official backs nuclear protocol The WE News Archives

Sunday, 27 July, 2003

Iran official backs nuclear protocol

The recently inaugurated Shahab lll missile added to international fears

Iran's representative on the United Nations nuclear watchdog has urged his government to sign up to closer inspections of its nuclear sites.

Ali Akbar Salehi said signing the additional protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty would help ease the pressure Tehran faced from the international community.

Last week foreign ministers from the EU joined the United States, Russia and Australia in voicing concerns over Iran's nuclear programme and urged Tehran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In an interview in Sunday's state-run Iran newspaper, Mr Salehi said Tehran should take a "positive view" of the protocol, which allows IAEA experts to conduct more rigorous visits to nuclear sites at short notice.

"We can use it to close the book on the politicised issue of our nuclear activities," Mr Salehi said.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.

Opposition in parliament

Mr Salehi said he thought the protocol had "not been properly introduced to our society".

IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei (L) with Iranian President Khatami in Tehran

An IAEA meeting in September will discuss Iran's progress

"The protocol has not been drawn up only for Iran or Third World countries. This is an international protocol and all the countries of the IAEA will accede to it sooner or later."

Mr Salehi said he hoped Tehran would take measures to satisfy international concerns before September.

The IAEA board of directors meets then to discuss Iran's progress since June, when an initial report came out.

However, the BBC's Miranda Eeles in Tehran says observers believe the September date to be unlikely.

Any move on the protocol would have to be passed in parliament, then ratified by the supervisory body, the Guardian Council, she says.

In addition, some members of parliament have suggested that instead of signing up to tighter inspections, Iran should pull out of the treaty altogether.

A group of IAEA legal experts has been invited to Iran to discuss the implications of signing the protocol and are expected in early August.

Monday, 16 June, 2003

Nuclear issue unites Iranian foes

By Sadeq Saba
BBC regional analyst

Iran has confirmed that it will not sign an additional protocol allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency greater and faster access to its nuclear sites.

The statement is likely to cause concern within the European Union, which has been urging the Iranians to approve the protocol unconditionally.

Satellite image of nuclear power reactor in Bushehr, Iran

ElBaradei and the inspectors plan to visit a number of nuclear facilities

Tehran needs to please the EU in order to get trade concessions and try to alleviate American pressures.

But the question of nuclear capability has become a key concern for Iran's leaders, and unites even the warring factions in the government.

Both the reformists and hardliners - who are at loggerheads over so many issues - are enthusiastic supporters of the country's nuclear programme.

It was the pro-reform President, Mohammad Khatami, who proudly announced on national television in February that Iran had become independent in producing fuel for its nuclear power station.

Iranian leaders from both factions hailed the surprise declaration as a huge achievement.

They say Iran's nuclear technology has been developed by its own scientists and they describe it as a source of power and pride for the nation.

Clout

During a recent parliamentary debate on Iran's nuclear programme, pro-reform MPs were more forceful than their hardline colleagues in insisting that Iran should not bow to external pressure and give up its nuclear capabilities.

Iran, of course, insists that its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.

But for some Iranians, even those who are opposed to the Islamic government, nuclear arms are a legitimate national aspiration.

They say that the nuclear status of some of Iran's neighbours - such as Pakistan and its arch-enemy, Israel - means it has every right to make such weapons to boost the country's security and bargaining power.

Some circles in the Iranian Government may also believe that if the country possesses nuclear arms, the United States would not be able to exert such significant pressure on the Islamic government.

IRAN UNDER PRESSURE