Iran receives 20% of IAEA’s total inspections: Agency’s envoy

According To Iran News, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran receives around 20 percent of the Agency’s total inspections, adding that “this level of cooperation should be recognized and appreciated.”

Following an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Governors of the IAEA on Thursday, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA  Kazem Gharib-Abadi wrote in a thread on Twitter that the “special meeting of the Board could have been dedicated to important disarmament and non-proliferation issues. Professionally speaking, the two issues on today’s agenda, didn’t enjoy any urgency.”

He went on to add, “Iran is cooperating with the Agency in 3 main areas, namely JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), CSA (comprehensive safeguards agreements) and AP (Additional Protocol). We always engage constructively to address possible issues or questions, and this is an ongoing and continuing process with no special immediacy or concern attached.”

“I emphasized in the BoG that Iran receives around 20 percent of the Agency’s total inspections and on average 3 inspectors are present in Iran each day.”

“This level of cooperation should be recognized and appreciated, and the Agency and some countries should avoid aggrandizing routine issues between Iran and Agency,” he added.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on Wednesday announced that an inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency was prevented from entering Natanz nuclear facility because “the security control machines sounded the alarm” upon the entry of the inspector, and due to protocol, she was denied entry and had to leave her mission unfinished.

Gharibabadi also confirmed that “there were suspicious materials in the incident involving the IAEA inspector.”

“Iran, like all other Members of the Agency, cannot condone any behavior or action which may be against the safety and security of its nuclear installations, especially considering the past sabotage attempts in its nuclear sites,” he added.

“The Secretariat and the Member States are expected to recognize the exemplary record of proactive cooperation with the inspectors and facilitation of their activities. And, it doesn’t mean that Iran will compromise its security concerns under any circumstances,” Iran’s IAEA ambassador stressed.