Nuclear Chief Rules Out Installation of 100 Surveillance Cameras at Isfahan Power Plant
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami dismissed rumors about activation of 100 monitoring cameras at a power plant in Central Iran, and said that such a site basally doesn't exist at the stated location.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Eslami dismissed comments from an Iranian lawmaker that as many as 100 new cameras have been set up at a nuclear power plant in Isfahan.
The nuclear head stressed that “no such plant exists there”.
“We have no [nuclear] power plant in Isfahan to install 100 cameras there,” he stated.
The official reiterated that the AEOI complies with the parliamentary laws, stressing that all of Iran’s measures conform with the Safeguards Agreement as well.
In a meeting with Iranian PMs in May, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed that the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions adopted by the Iranian Parliament in 2020 to counter anti-Tehran sanctions saved the country from “bewilderment in nuclear issue”
The legislation was adopted more than two years ago by Iranian MPs to counter sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and its Western allies, and promote the country’s peaceful nuclear program.
Iranian officials say Tehran, at the same time as adhering to the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions law passed by the parliament in December 2020, is determined to settle disputes and resolve differences with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within a framework of constructive and mutual interaction and technical cooperation.
Eslami also highlighted Tehran’s coordination with the IAEA in accordance with the Safeguards Agreement and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The remarks come as IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has reaffirmed that progress has been made in implementing the joint statement between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog about safeguard issues.
In early March, Grossi visited Iran and held meetings with Eslami, President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
At the end of the Grossi’s trip, Tehran and the nuclear watchdog issued a joint statement, and agreed to continue their interactions in a spirit of cooperation and in full conformity with the competencies of the IAEA and the rights and obligations of Iran.
The AEOI chief underlined at that time that Iran considers the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as strategic law adopted by the Iranian parliament as the basis for its nuclear activities, but underscored that the UN nuclear watchdog’s supervisions should be within Tehran’s frameworks and reservations.
Iran proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers. However, Washington’s exit in May 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the agreement in limbo.
Negotiations kicked off in the Austrian capital city of Vienna in April 2021, with the intention of removing anti-Iran sanctions and examining the United States’ seriousness in rejoining the agreement.
The talks, however, have been at a standstill since August 2022 due to Washington’s insistence on not removing all the sanctions and its failure to offer necessary guarantees that it will not abandon the deal again.
