Iran: IAEA report politically influenced

Iran says the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the country’s nuclear work has been politically influenced.

“The agency should maintain its technical dignity defined within the NPT framework. It would be outside its legal duty … if it deals with political matters and attends to external pressure on the agency,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

The spokesman further pointed out that the IAEA report once again confirmed Iran’s non-deviation toward nuclear weapons material but it also focused on certain “non-technical” issues and was to some extent politicized.

Mehmanparast said that the IAEA was expected to only focus on technical issues and deal with potential NPT violations regardless of political pressure. He also said that the IAEA should address concerns regarding Israel’s nuclear arsenal.

Elsewhere in his weekly press conference, he stated that Iran was ready to hold talks with the Vienna Group on a fuel swap deal for the Tehran research reactor based on the Tehran declaration signed between Iran, Turkey and Brazil in May.

Mehmanparast also added that the Islamic Republic was also ready to sit down with the P5+1 — the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany — if its considerations are taken into account.

Talks between Iran and the European Union were also on the agenda, the Iranian spokesperson went on to say.

IAEA’s Director General Yukiya Amano on Monday released its latest report on Iran’s nuclear work, in which he once gain confirmed that the IAEA continued to “verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.”

The report, however, urged Iran to “cooperate in clarifying outstanding issues” and suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

The Islamic Republic says it has been fully cooperating with the IAEA, adding that it has answered all questions regarding its nuclear work.