IAEA’s policy to pressure Iran dictated by US

An Iranian lawmaker says the approach adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran’s nuclear energy program is dictated by the United States.

“Since taking office as the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. [Yukio] Amano has been executing US orders and has apparently been commissioned to make problems ahead of the meeting and influence the upcoming talks,” Seyyed Baqer Hossieni said on Wednesday.

Hossieni, a member of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was referring to the second round of talks between the Islamic Republic and the six major world powers — China, Britain, France, Russia, and the US plus Germany — in the Kazak city of Almaty on April 5-6.

The legislator said Amano’s recent comments show the United States is after preventing an agreement in the negotiations through obstructionism, despite positive outcomes from the first round of talks in Almaty in late February.

“We do not know for sure, but we have information indicating that Iran was engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices in the past and now,” AP quoted Amano as saying Tuesday.

Hossieni noted that in repeated inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the IAEA has never detected any diversion in the country’s nuclear energy program, and raised questions about the timing of the remarks.

“Were these issues necessary, Mr. Amano should announce them after the [upcoming] meeting” in Almaty, he said.

“The P5+1 nations, instead of US goals and demands, should consider the interests of their own nations because they have also suffered losses due to the sanctions imposed against Iran under baseless pretexts,” he added.

Iran and the P5+1 (China, Russia, France, Britain and the US plus Germany) have held several rounds of talks with a focus on the Iranian nuclear energy program. The last round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group was held in Almaty on February 26-27.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.