Restrictions on IAEA inspections in Iran require approval of "higher authorities": official

Source: Xinhua Published: 2020/11/30 9:09:40

Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behrouz Kamalvandi speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on July 17, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)


Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Sunday that any restrictions on the international monitoring of Iran's nuclear program require the approval of "higher instances."

"With regard to access (to Iran's nuclear facilities), we will make sure that it remains within its defined and normal limits," Kamalvandi was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying.

Earlier in the day, Iran's parliament promoted a bill, seeking among other measures to stop all the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections in Iran beyond the requirements of the Non-Proliferation Treaty's (NPT) Additional Protocol.

The bill was given "double-urgency" status after Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated on Friday, but Kamalvandi said that hostile attacks should not be generally linked to the IAEA inspections of Iranian facilities.

The spokesman did not specify which "instances" he was referring to, but every bill in Iran requires the ratification of the Guardian Council to become law, and according to Iran's Constitution, it is Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who "determines the overall policy" of the country, "after consultation with the Expediency Council."

Posted in: MID-EAST

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