Iran denies allowing snap inspection of nuclear facilities

A senior Iranian nuclear official dismisses any snap inspection of the country’s nuclear facilities, saying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors will continue to visit Iran on a regular monthly basis.

“The IAEA’s inspections of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will be carried out on a monthly basis, just like before,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Saturday.

He was reacting to allegations by the Associated Press that Iran recently agreed to allow unannounced inspections of its facilities in return for the recent extension of nuclear talks between Tehran and six world powers.

“The extent and type of inspections of Iran’s nuclear activities will continue on its regular basis during the seven-month period of talks extension,” said Kamalvandi.

In their last round of talks, Iran and the P5+1 countries – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany – wrapped up a week of intense closed-door nuclear negotiations in the Austrian city of Vienna on November 24. The talks aimed to tackle the remaining obstacles that exist in the way of reaching a final agreement.

At the end of the talks, the two sides decided to extend their discussions for seven more months. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in the Swiss city of Geneva last November remain in place during the remainder of the negotiations until July 1, 2015.