Reza Najafi, the Iranian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reiterated on Wednesday that the Israeli regime has never allowed IAEA’s inspectors access to its secretive and illegal nuclear facilities, and called “meaningless” the concerns by Tel Aviv about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
“Let Israel keep shedding crocodile tears on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program! But be sure that such hue and cry cannot conceal the regime’s nuclear weapons, which are a real threat to the regional and international peace and security,” Najafi made the comments in an official letter to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano.
Elsewhere in his letter, he criticized Amano for allowing demands for an in-depth report about Iran’s commitment to its nuclear agreement — dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying any such request is “inconsistent” with the text of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
“A detailed report means inclusion of more confidential information, which is contrary to the principle of confidentiality. The provisions of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Article 5 of the Additional Protocol for protection of confidential information, and the JCPOA itself, are all very clear in this regard,” he added.
Earlier in the day, chief US IAEA delegate Henry S. Ensher told the agency’s board that “robust and detailed reporting on Iran’s implementation of its commitments” is vital even with the agreement in effect. State Department spokesman John Kirby also backed such sentiments, saying “we want these reports to be as thorough as they need to be, and as detailed as they need to be.”
According to JCPOA, the IAEA has been requested to take every precaution to protect commercial, technological, and industrial secrets of Iran, therefore, “asking for the disclosure of such information under any case, including transparency, is a request for an obvious violation of the JCPOA,” Najafi further said.
Israel is the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East with hundreds of undeclared nuclear warheads. It is also refusing to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
