IAEA envoys arrive in Tehran

Seven ambassadors to the International Atomic Energy Agency, representing over 120 nations, have have arrived in Tehran for a tour of Iranian nuclear sites.

Representatives from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Group of 77, the Arab League, Venezuela, and Syria accepted Iran’s invitation to tour its nuclear sites and left the Austrian capital on Friday.

The delegates are from Algeria, Cuba, Syria, Oman, Egypt, Venezuela, and the League of Arab States. Egypt is the current head of NAM, and the G77 is being represented by Algeria.

Ahead of their departure on Friday evening, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said the envoys are scheduled to visit the Natanz enrichment facility and the Arak heavy water reactor.

This visit is a sign of the transparency of Iran’s nuclear activities, Soltanieh said.

Tehran extended the invitation as a goodwill gesture to display the transparency of its nuclear program in the spirit of international cooperation.

Iran extended the same invitation to EU member states as well, but they rejected the offer.

Earlier on Friday, Iranian caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi announced that the Islamic Republic is ready to take any measure to help build confidence in its nuclear program but will not compromise on its legitimate rights.

“We are ready to take any measure in line with building mutual confidence with the West while protecting our nuclear rights,” he said.

Salehi, who is also the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, expressed hope that the country’s goodwill gestures would help build confidence.

“There is no country in the world that is ready to expose its nuclear facilities, and this (invitation) demonstrates the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities,” Salehi stated.