TEHRAN (PressTV) – Iran says it will soon begin its “serious” legal pursuit of the leakage of confidential reports prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog on an Iranian facility was leaked to the media.

According To Iran News, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the history of Iran’s legal protests against the IAEA over its failure to preserve confidential information dates back more than two decades.

“All Safeguards and JCPOA reports as well as Iran’s correspondence with the IAEA and vice versa are confidential. The IAEA shares its reports in its internal site, only accessible to its member states,” the Iranian diplomat told the state TV on Saturday.

Gharibabadi said the Islamic Republic has already asked the IAEA to minimize the amount of details it gives its member states in its reports and avoid providing them with non-essential information.

He said in Iran’s view, the IAEA is responsible to protect confidential information, and if there is any flaw in this communication mechanism, it must be revised substantially.

His comments came after Reuters quoted a confidential IAEA report as saying that the Islamic Republic plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in the enrichment plant in the central city of Natanz.

“In a letter dated 2 December 2020, Iran informed the Agency that the operator of the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz ‘intends to start installation of three cascades of IR-2m centrifuge machines’ at FEP,” the IAEA’s report to its member states said.

In his first reaction to the leakage, Gharibabadi had called on the IAEA to ensure confidentiality of safeguards information.

Gharibabadi wrote, “@iaeaorg confidential report, based on Iran’s confidential letter, appeared in Media immediately even before the BoG Members could track it down,” referring to the IAEA Board of Governors.

Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations calls on the IAEA to ensure confidentiality of safeguards information after a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog on the Natanz facility was leaked to the media.

“Agency is not merely responsible to update the development, but shall ensure confidentiality of safeguards information,” he added.

“If neither the Agency nor its Member States are to be blamed for this crack in confidentiality, @iaeaorg should revise its confidentiality mechanisms including regarding using GovAtom as the safe and confidential means for communications.”

GovAtom is a service provided by the IAEA to its Member State representatives. It provides them with online documentation on the work of the Board of Governors and its Committees.

The post Tehran Vows to Legally Pursue Leakage of IAEA Confidential Report appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The open session of Majlis on Tuesday December 1 made history in the seven and half years life of the 11^th and 12^th government, namely, President Hassan Rouhani’s governments. Majlis legislators with 251 votes in favor, in this session and during reviewing the outlines of a draft bill, dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions,  for lifting of the sanctions and safeguarding national interests, approved its generalities that the government was totally opposed of its approval.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

After the overwhelming approval of the generalities of the draft bill, lawmakers chanted slogans like “Down with the U.S.”, “Down with Israel”, “The blood in our veins, is the gift to our Leader.” The double-urgency draft bill Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions which had been referred to the  National Security and Foreign Policy Committee for further studies, was discussed and  debated there in presence of the related executive bodies and experts of Majlis Research Center, and by ratification of its title and its text, the bill was approved and then the committee’s report in accordance with the Article 161 of Majlis internal status book was handed over to Majlis for voting by legislators. The approved bill pursues goals as follows: The first goal is to undo the locks, inflicted on the national nuclear industry. The second goal is to confront with sanctions which are imposed on Iran by Western countries.

Spokesman to the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Abolfazl Amouei, regarding the committee’s approach, says, “We believe by concentration on bolstering our nuclear program and creating restriction for inspections that today there is no logic behind it, we can stand against the sanctions while all balances in the previous agreements have been ruined. And regarding the base for these inspections from our nuclear centers there is a question and there should be a response to this balance and imbalance.”

Lawmakers’ votes insist on the text and content for Iran’s withdrawal from implementing the additional protocol which has been created in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and any country can accept it voluntarily.

The Islamic Republic of Iran on December 18, 2003, and during Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s presidency and just a verbal measure joined the IAEA’s additional protocol. The story behind this was that in October 2003 and during the simultaneous presence of foreign ministers of UK, France and Germany in Tehran (Saad Abad talks). Iranian negotiating team, led by Hassan Rouhani, the then Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, in an action which they called it aimed at trust-building with European states, decided to sign and implement the additional protocol voluntarily and make themselves captive in the claw of IAEA inspections.

After revelation of Majlis decision to present the double-urgency draft bill and its approval, the government spokesman Ali Rabiei expressed the government’s opposition to this bill and said, “The government believes the issue is only in the authority of the Supreme National Security Council, and responsibility for making any decision on the nuclear program and the JCPOA according to the Article 176 of the constitutions is beyond a branch of power and no branch of power cannot by itself act out of this framework and it seems Majlis (legislative power) cannot either enter these issues and the Guardian Council will definitely take it into consideration when it reviews the Majlis approval and it will consider legal restrictions and national expediencies.” Touching upon this issue, President Rouhani officially said, “The government does not agree with the bill passed by the Parliament yesterday, and considers it to be detrimental to diplomatic efforts.”

Touching upon the Majlis approval, the president in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday said the reason for his no show in Majlis for submitting the next year budget was only observing the health protocols recommended by the National Anti-Corona Headquarters, adding, “In this condition it is better to review statistics of the past years carefully. In all fields like nuclear field, the condition that the country is in it is by far better than eight years ago. We have reached  IR8 and IR9 from IR1 and IR2.We today are able to enrich IR2M in different chains. We are also able to have enrichment chain with IR6. Such capabilities have never existed in the country. Today in terms of nuclear field, the country is stronger than any time. In terms of facilities and research and development, our condition is better than any time. We should not enter this issue due to political or electoral competition that I think it is too early, because it makes us to violate the ethics or avoid telling the truth.”

Something which definitely clear is that Iran’s pullout of the voluntary additional protocol  is a right that Iranian nation and especially Majlis should fully consider it and President’s remarks can observe his saving of his actions in drawing his horn during the Saad Abad nuclear talks, and he can also accuse Majlis actions as an electoral gesture which means  Majlis Speaker Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf and his probable candidacy in the 2021 presidential election.

But that the government caution to what extent will be to the national interests will be forcibly be defined in the global reaction of Iran’s enemies. Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House has thickened the government’s precaution as it both does not give any permission for taking revenge regarding assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and leaves Majlis high and dry in order that it could not take retaliatory actions regarding the terrorist acts and West’s stance.

  By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post Brave Majlis in Claw of the Cautious Gov’t appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The world economic growth is on the decline due to the outbreak of the coronavirus and some people in the world sleep the nights with empty stomachs and wait in miles-long lines to get a piece of food from the food banks. In such a condition, governments have increased the expenditures for expanding their arsenals. While the U.S. and Zionists have been talking for over 30 years about Iran’s so-called secret nuclear activities and probable production and stockpile of nuclear bombs in order to deviate the public opinion and to deceive the international community and members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reports indicate that they themselves have been expanding their capabilities in production and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, and just the U.S. alone has produced and stockpiled over 6,200 A-bombs with nuclear warheads.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

Reports from the reliable sources show that Zionist regime, too, has boosted its arsenal in the past three years and it has increased the number of its A-bombs with nuclear warheads from 77 to 100. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has been founded for conducting research on international peace and its authentic and accurate reports has provided the ground for valid statistical belief. The Swedish think-tank in its recent report, which was released in Stockholm and major important part of it has been covered by the international mass media, has announced that today in the end of 2020, nine countries have stockpiled 13,865 A-bombs that one-fourth of it is enough for annihilating the world.

Following SIPRI’s report, Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post in an article wrote, ”Israel has close to 100 nuclear warheads.” While Israel continues its old policy of keeping silence on its nuclear arsenal, according to the Swedish think tank’s report released some three years ago (2017),  this country has some 30 gravity bomb (without guidance system) which can be delivered by fighter jets. Some of these fighter jets are believed to be equipped for nuclear weapon delivery. Irregardless of the number of Israel’s gravity bombs in 2017, the country has had approximately 50 warheads,  that can be delivered by land-based ballistic missiles such as the Jericho III intermediate-range ballistic missile.

In such a condition we are facing with an earsplitting propagation which is constantly trumpeted that Iran has been equipped with nuclear weapon. Such a huge amount of false propagation is spread against a country which has the most transparent nuclear program among the IAEA members. Let’s have a look at the official reports of the IAEA in the world and all of them says, “22 percent of the total inspections of the agency in the world has been conducted in Iran and all its released reports verify that Iran has the most transparent peaceful nuclear program among the IAEA members.

Iran has voluntarily accepted the request of the IAEA for checking probable safeguard issues. Recently Iran’s permanent representative to the IAEA has said, “The recent report of the IAEA Director General shows the steps have been taken by Iran and the international body to reach a common understanding regarding issues in question as well as finding acceptable solutions. The Islamic Republic has officially and strongly announced its stand in opposition to production and stockpile of nuclear weapon, and it has announced the necessity for full destruction of them in the world.”

By the way, all the world knows it well that this government of Iran is unwilling to act clandestinely against the western governments. Above all, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran who is the marja taqlid (literally means source of follow) of Shiites in the world in his fatwa (religious ruling) has called the production and stockpile of weapons of mass destruction as haram (forbidden). Quite the contrary,  the U.S. is currently equipped with some 6200 nuclear warheads. The Zionist regime, as the Jerusalem Post has announced, has some 100 nuclear warheads and only its 10 nuclear warheads are enough to annihilate the whole Middle East and the West Asian states, and the world has just  adopted an astonishing silence policy against this potential danger.

I recommend all conscious people in the world to launch a global campaign for combatting with this sinister phenomenon that in the current tough living Coronavirus condition, it, first, could censure and boycott this process which makes some part of the world economy realize massacre of world people, and secondly prepare protocols for replacing the tools for massacre with a logic of justice for administering the world.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post Is Production and Stockpile of A-Bomb Economically Wise? appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran’s Ambassador to the Vienna-based international organizations Kazem Gharibabadi named the early July incident that took place at the Natanz facility as ‘dangerous adventurism’.

He made the remark in his report on Thursday to the seasonal session of the Board of Directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He said that “The fact that 22 percent of the Agency’s global inspections alone is conducted in Iran, shows that Iran has the most transparent peaceful nuclear program among the Agency’s Member States. Although the Agency is supposed to focus on the current activities, however, Iran has voluntarily accepted the request by the Agency to address possible safeguards issues.”

“In this context, the Director General’s current report depicts the extra-miles which both Iran and the Agency have taken to reach a common understanding on the issues at hand, and to find satisfactory resolutions for them. We, both, are in agreement that in order to overcome possible impediments, a conducive environment should be established for it first, which certainly comes out of mutual good-faith. The current extensive level of cooperation between Iran and the Agency has not been achieved easily, and we shouldn’t allow it to be diminished simply by imprudent political interests of few.”

He said it was “noteworthy that the same legal instruments which entitle the Agency to enjoy certain rights, also identify the boundaries and limitations for the assumption of such rights. In this regard, questions or requests by the Agency should be based on convincing underlying reasons, and independent information and findings. Also, the Member States of the Agency should seriously avoid exerting any pressure against it for preserving its integrity. By considering such limitations and refraining from basing the questions and requests on allegations and fabricated documents, the grounds were ready for cooperation between Iran and the Agency. In this line, since the Agency has considered and analyzed information available to it till now, therefore, does not have any further question or requests for access to locations other than those declared by Iran.”

Furthermore, he went on “to emphasize that since few adversaries of the JCPOA could not find any issues in the recent years to destroy the JCPOA and cooperation between Iran and the Agency, they have tried in vain to build their arguments upon unfounded, baseless allegations. Nevertheless, it is upon the Board of Governors and the Agency’s Secretariat to show necessary wisdom and foresight to avoid getting entangled in their mischief.”

“It should be noted that the issues under consideration are related to the Additional Protocol in terms of requests for access; and, one should not lose sight of the fact that this Protocol is provisionally and voluntary applied by the Islamic Republic of Iran due to the JCPOA. Accordingly, I would like to note that, as quite often reiterated by the Non-Aligned Movement, there should be a clear distinction between legal obligations of Member States under their respective safeguards agreements and their voluntary undertakings, in order to ensure that such voluntary undertakings are not turned into legal safeguards obligations. In view of this, pending the resolution of these issues, they should be addressed within ongoing interaction between Iran and the Agency; therefore, there is no need for further regular reporting to the Board,” he added.

The Iranian diplomat further stressed that “The Islamic Republic of Iran places great importance on nuclear security. In this context, I would like to draw your attention to an important matter and refer to the recent explosion in Shahid Ahmadi Roushan nuclear facility (Natanz) which was the result of sabotage as already declared. We warn against any such reckless and dangerous adventurism. Such malicious acts should be condemned strongly by the Agency and its Member States. In several General Conference resolutions, it is highlighted that any armed attack and threat against nuclear facilities dedicated for peaceful purposes and are under the IAEA safeguards, is considered as the gross violation of the provisions of the UN Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency. In addition to protecting its nuclear facilities in any way it deems necessary, Iran reserves its right to take appropriate actions against such threats. I would also like to emphasize that such malicious acts will not negatively affect Iran’s nuclear program, but will only serve as an incentive to accelerate its development.”

The post Iran Blasts “Dangerous Adventurism” Against Its Nuclear Program appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“I don’t see activities that are contrary to the Iran nuclear agreement … but we need to monitor very, very carefully,” Amano said.

Amano added that the agency’s “inspectors have had access to all the sites and locations in Iran which they needed to visit.”

“So far they are implementing” the agreement, Amano stressed.

He also noted that the US is “a very important country, so, of course, it (the US withdrawal) has impact.”

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Elsewhere in the interview, Amano said the additional protocol is, “a powerful verification tool that gives the Agency broader access to information about all parts of a state’s nuclear fuel cycle. It also gives our inspectors greater access to sites and locations, in some cases with as little as two hours’ notice.”

“Not only Saudi Arabia, but I am asking all the countries to implement the additional protocol. This would increase confidence,” Amano underlined.

He further explained that nuclear weapons have become easier to get than ever before.

“In general terms, the technology to develop nuclear weapons is an old one, dating back 70 years, and after that lots of progress has been made in technology,” Amano said. “You can get the information, you can get the material, the education. It’s available.”

He then warned that “the current environment” makes it “easier for countries to proliferate.”

“That is one of the reasons why we have to strengthen our activities to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and verify that all the material and equipment stay for a peaceful purpose,” he said.

He said that over the last decade North Korea’s “nuclear program has significantly expanded.”

“Over the past year, activities at some facilities continued or developed further,” Amano said.

He emphasized that the IAEA “is the only international organization that can verify and monitor denuclearization in an impartial, independent and objective manner.”

He concluded that the IAEA was ready and able to send a team of inspectors into North Korea “within weeks,” if an agreement were to be reached.

The post UN Nuclear Chief Reconfirms Iran’s Compliance with JCPOA appeared first on Iran News Daily.