Iran’s Role in IAEA Probe Meets Standards - Amano

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said today Iran’s role in IAEA investigation of any past work on nuclear weapons meets the nuclear watchdog agency’s strict standards. Amano acknowledged that samples used so far in determining whether Iran tried to develop a nuclear weapon at Parchin military site were collected by the Iranian experts, but added their probe was within the IAEA guidelines.

Meanwhile, IAEA deputy director Tero Varjoranta, who along with Amano visited Parchin military site yesterday, said the criteria at Parchin included invasive monitoring by video and still cameras while the sampling took place; GPS tracking of sampling process; IAEA agreement on where the samples were to be taken; review by peers of the inspection process; risk assessment and strict observance to make sure the the procedures were followed step by step. (AP, 21 September)
 

Amano Visits Parchin

IAEA Secretary-General Yukiya Amano on Sunday visited Parchin military site, suspected of being a venue for past nuclear weapons work by Iran. The surprise visit was part of IAEA’s investigation of possible military dimensions (PMD) to the country’s nuclear program. Tero Varjoranta, IAEA’s department head for safeguards, accompanied Amano in the visit to Parchin.

IAEA is expected to release its findings by the end of this year, and if favorable to Iran it would jumpstart the process of the lifting of sanctions against the country. 

The Iranian supreme leader and senior military officers always insisted that foreigners would not be allowed to visit any military site. Amano and Varjoranta were no Iranians!

During his one-day trip to Tehran, Amano also met with President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif and attended a meeting at Majlis’s special commission reviewing the JCPOA.

High ranking officials in Tehran from Netherlands, Japan and IAEA

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on 20SEP15 in Tehran

According to DutchNews.nl:

Koenders arrived in Iran at the weekend in what is the first visit by a Dutch minister in 14 years.

According to the NRC, Zarif said the oil and gas industry, water sector and farming are all areas which offer prospects to Dutch companies. He also said he regretted the fact that the long relationship between the two counties had suffered because of sanctions.

At a press conference after their meeting, Koenders said the Netherlands is keen to strengthen economic, political and cultural ties between the two countries ‘on equitable terms’.

In addition, he said that Iran is ‘indispensible’ in a ‘very difficult region in which we have to find peace and stability’. ‘I also welcome the involvement of the Iranian government in trying to engage in productive talks… on issues like Syria and Yemen,’ the Dutch minister said.

COMMENTARY: Following the signing of JCPOA in Vienna, Zarif has received in Tehran high ranking officials from France, Italy, United Kingdom, Austria, Syria, Iraq, Brazil and now Netherlands and Japan (see below).

Zarif has also undertaken diplomatic trips to Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Russia, China and Bangladesh.

Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and female member of Dutch delegation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, on 20SEP15 in Tehran.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders with Iranian Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, on 21SEP15 in Tehran

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders with Iran Navy Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, on 21SEP15 in Tehran.

Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kentaro Sonoura with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on 20SEP15 in Tehran.

According to PressTV:

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says a nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in July will prepare the ground for more economic relations between Iran and Japan.

“Japan, by making an investment in different sectors, can restore its previous economic position in Iran,” Zarif said in a meeting with Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura in Tehran on Sunday.

According to Tehran Times:

A trade delegation, led by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Chairman Hiroyuki Ishige, is scheduled to visit Iran on October 7, according to the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI).

The delegation will be comprised of CEOs of some companies from the Japanese private sector, the IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

Ishige is planned to visit TPOI Director Valiollah Afkhami-Rad to explore ways for the expansion of trade and economic ties between Iran and Japan.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on 20SEP15 in Tehran.

According to AFP:

Amano held talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani as well as atomic agency chief Ali Akbar Salehi.

Under a deal sealed in July with six world powers aimed at ending a 13-year standoff, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear activities that experts say would make any dash to produce a weapon all but impossible.

Amano also addressed a 12-member committee set up by the Iranian parliament to examine the deal

IAEA delegation with Iran parliamentary committee, on 21SEP15 in Tehran

COMMENTARY: In the above photo, among the Iranian committee members, the following individuals can be identified: Sayyid Hossein Naqavi, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Hojjat al Eslam Vahid Ahmadi and Alireza Zakani.

Photos: Islamic Republic News Agency

Amano in Tehran

IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano arrived in Tehran today and visited Majlis to attend a meeting of the special commission of the Iranian parliament that is reviewing the nuclear agreement, JCPOA.

Amano and the MPs were to discuss IAEA’s role in clarifying issues regarding possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program and the IAEA’s role in implementing the Additional Protocol and additional annexes which is part of JCPOA.

Amano also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to discuss the implementation of the JCPOA. He will return to Vienna later today.

Photo credit: IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano attends a meeting of Majlis special commission reviewing the nuclear agreement with P5+1; Tehran, 20 September 2015 (Mohsen Norouzifard/Khaneh Mellat (Majlis) News Agency)  

IAEA Chief to Attend Majlis Meeting on JCPOA

IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano will travel to Tehran on Sunday to hold talks with senior Iranians officials and will attend a meeting of the Iranian parliament’s special commission that is reviewing the nuclear agreement.

Alireza Zakani, the head of the review commission of the Majlis, had earlier invited Amano to meet with his commission to answer questions on JCPOA, the nuclear agreement. The Iranian foreign ministry announced today that Amano has accepted the invitation and will attend a Sunday afternoon meeting of the commission. (Fars News Agency, 19 September)

Zakani is a leading opponent of JCPOA in Iran, and as the head of the review commission has an influential role in the parliamentary process to approve or disapprove the nuclear agreement. Majlis can also choose not to vote on JCPOA and instead refer its recommendations, including opposition to parts of the agreement, to the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for consideration.

UPDATE: Alireza Zakani, the head of Majlis commission reviewing JCPOA, today asked the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to deliver two secret documents to the commission that AEOI has signed with IAEA. Zakani said the documents deal with the Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of Iranian nuclear program and a long-term plan with IAEA on continued inspection of Iranian nuclear sites and facilities. (IRNA, 19 September)

IAEA does not make its agreements with member states public, and AEOI is not expected to release the secret documents.

IAEA Inspectors to Visit Iran Tuesday

IAEA inspectors will visit Iran on Tuesday as part of their investigation into the alleged past activities related to nuclear weapons at Parchin military complex, 30 km (19 miles) south of Tehran. The investigation is part of the nuclear deal, JCPOA, signed on 14 July between Iran and P5+1 and approved by the UN Security Council. IAEA has said it will conclude its investigation by 14 October, and will complete its final report on the subject by 15 December. The implementation process of the nuclear accord cannot begin before the IAEA report.

Reuters reported today that as part of a side agreement between Iran and the IAEA, the agency’s inspector alongside the Iranian scientists will visit Parchin to take samples from inside the buildings where the nuclear weaponization work was suspected to have taken place. It was not clear if the taking samples at Parchin will occur during Tuesday’s IAEA visit to Tehran or on a later date.

“The IAEA will be present when the Iranians take the samples at Parchin. This approach to managed access is something that’s fairly standard in the IAEA toolbox,” a Western diplomat knowledgable of IAEA work in Iran said. (Reuters, 12 September)

IAEA: Report Iran to Inspect Own Military Site is ‘Misrepresentation’

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano rejected as “misrepresentation” report Iran would inspect its own Parchin military site on the agency’s behalf, Reuters reported from Vienna.

An unconfirmed report by the Associated Press cited a draft document suggesting IAEA would not send its own inspectors in Parchin but would instead get data from Iran on the site.

“I am disturbed by statements suggesting that the IAEA has given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work,” Amano said in an unusually strongly worded statement on Thursday. (Reuters, 20 August)

Meanwhile, the State Department said today IAEA would “in no way” hand over responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. “That is not how IAEA does business,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. (Reuters, 20 August)
 

IAEA to use Iranian experts for PMD inspection at Parchin

Excerpts from the Associated Press article:

Iran will be allowed to use its own inspectors to investigate a site it has been accused of using to develop nuclear arms, operating under a secret agreement with the U.N. agency that normally carries out such work, according to a document seen by The Associated Press.

The Parchin agreement was worked out between the IAEA and Iran. The United States and the five other world powers were not party to it but were briefed by the IAEA and endorsed it as part of the larger package.

On Wednesday, White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the Obama administration was "confident in the agency's technical plans for investigating the possible military dimensions of Iran's former program. ... The IAEA has separately developed the most robust inspection regime ever peacefully negotiated."

The agreement in question diverges from normal procedures by allowing Tehran to employ its own experts and equipment in the search for evidence of activities it has consistently denied - trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Olli Heinonen, who was in charge of the Iran probe as deputy IAEA director general from 2005 to 2010, said he could think of no similar concession with any other country.

According to NBC News:

Wednesday night, two senior U.S. officials told NBC News that the unusual arrangement between the IAEA and Tehran relates only to past military activity and that UN inspectors, including IAEA Director Yukiya Amano, would be on site to supervise the Iranians at every step of the way.

The Senate opponent told NBC News tonight it is "categorically untrue that IAEA inspectors will be inside the Parchin facility while soil samples are being taken" - contrary to the administration's claims.

The senator, who would not permit his name to be used because of the classified nature of the briefing, says the IAEA will be outside the facility where the soil samples are being taken - a concession to save face for Iran.

COMMENTARY: IAEA inspectors have visited Parchin twice in the past, following claims of nuclear-related weaponization activity at the site. Both times, IAEA inspectors detected no past or current nuclear-related weaponization activity.

During the negotiations period leading up to JCPOA, the PMD issue (with inspection of Parchin) appeared to be insurmountable. But here again, a creative solution appears to have been agreed upon.

Iran's military objects to foreign access at the site based on security concerns, with the risk that doing so may compromise aspects of its conventional military industrial complex deemed vital for national defense.

Iran Gives IAEA Explanation about Past Nuclear Work

Iran handed over information about its nuclear activities to the IAEA today, a milestone in meeting a condition for sanctions relief under the nuclear deal, JCPOA, signed last month. As part of the deal, Iran signed a separate agreement with the IAEA to resolve all outstanding questions about possible military dimensions (PMD) to its nuclear work.

“Iran today provided the IAEA with its explanation in writing and related documents as agreed in the road map for clarification of past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program,” the IAEA said on Saturday, confirming Iran had made a deadline.

Full sanctions relief can only go ahead once the IAEA says Iran has complied with all its commitments under JCPOA and clarification of its past nuclear activities

Velayati: No Inspection of Military Sites

Iranian supreme leader’s top foreign policy advisor Ali Akbar Velayati said on Friday that Iran will not allow IAEA inspectors into any military sites, Iranian news agencies Mehr and Fars reported. Velayati’s declaration contradicts JCPOA, the nuclear agreement Iran signed two weeks ago with world powers.

“The access of inspecters from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or from any other body to Iran’s military sites is forbidden,” Velayati said. (Fars News Agency, 25 July)

Velayati is also quoted by Iranian news agencies as saying that inspection of military sites under “any conditions and circumstances” will not be allowed “irrespective of the different interpretations that the P5+1 could have of Vienna agreement.”

Annex I of JCPOA, the nuclear agreement between Iran and P5+1, allows inspection of military sites. Iran could refuse IAEA’s request to inspect any specific site, but an eight-member Joint Commission comprising the U.S., Iran, EU, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany can with a majority (5) vote overrule Iran’s objection. The process could take up to 24 days, but the inspection will have to be allowed if the Joint Commission votes in its favor, not particularly too high a bar for the U.S., EU, UK, France and Germany representatives to meet.

If Iran indeed refuses to verify the inspection provisions of the agreement, it could throw the implementation of the entire agreement in limbo. The implementation begins with IAEA certification that Iran has implemented all its obligations under the agreement.

Amano: Better Understanding, More Work - Update

IAEA General Secretary Yukiya Amano said in statement released by the IAEA that the purpose of his visit to Iran on Thursday was to “advance work toward the resolution of all outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program, including clarification of possible military dimensions (PMD).”

Amano added that the two sides now “have a better understanding on some ways forward, though more work will be needed.”

Amano's statement cautiously confirms an earlier report by Bloomberg that 
quoted a senior Iranian officials as saying Iran had agreed to sign the IAEA's Additional Protocol as part of a nuclear deal, allowing managed inspection of sensitive sites and questioning of nuclear officials. The PMD report is a key parameter for lifting of sanction, and Amano's visit to Tehran and his meetings with President Rouhani and Adm. Shamkhani could be the breakthrough needed to strike a final deal.

IAEA Chief to Visit Iran as Nuclear Talks Gain Momentum

Significant Meeting with Shamkhani

 

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano will visit Tehran on Thursday and will meet with President Hassan Rouhani and Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the IAEA announced today. (Bloomberg, 1 July)

IAEA has sought to re-visit Parchin military complex outside Tehran, where its investigators allege to have credible evidence that nuclear weapons-related experiments took place. Resolving Iran’s past nuclear weapon work is an important element in the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the world power. Access to all declared and suspected nuclear sites was part of the framework agreement announced on 2 April in Lausanne. But last week, Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, declared military sites, like Parchin, off-limits to IAEA inspectors, creating a major obstacle to reach a nuclear accord during talks in Vienna.

Amano's meeting with Shamkhani is significant, as he is a key security official with military oversight. Reporters covering the Vienna talks said on Tuesday that the U.S. might have offered a new proposal on how to resolve Parchin’s inspection. Amano’s trip to Tehran could facilitate ways acceptable to the Iranians to conduct probes into the country’s past work on nuclear weapons.

Photo credit: IAEA chief Yukiya Amano (Carsten Koall/Getty Images/Bloomberg)

Khamenei Restate Nuclear Redlines

Majlis Codifies Red Lines

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today restated his red lines for a nuclear deal with world powers after discord surfaced inside Iran between the government and lawmakers. Earlier in the day, the Majlis had passed a nuclear bill despite strong objections from Rouhani’s government. The bill passed Khamenei’s red lines into law, even after Rouhani’s vice president told lawmakers before the vote that the legislature could complicate negotiations just one week before the 30 June deadline for a final agreement.

Ayatollah Khamenei insisted that sanctions should be lifted as Iran begins the implementation of its commitments under a final agreement, and not after the IAEA certifies that Iran was indeed in compliance. Khamenei said he would not trust IAEA, because the agency is neither independent nor fair.

Khamenei also restated his objection for any inspections of military sites suspected of carrying out nuclear weapons-related work. IAEA has insisted that it needs to complete its inspection of possible military dimension to the country’s nuclear program, which would include an inspection of Parchin military base. Iran’s acceptance of IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which would facilitate such inspections, was part of the Lausanne framework agreement announced in April by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

Khameni also added a new redline today. He said he would not accept 10 or 12-year limitations on uranium enrichment, a central part of the Lausanne framework agreement.

"Unlike the insistence from the Americans, we do not accept long-term limitations of 10, 12 years. And we told them how many years of limitations we are ready to accept," Khamenei said. (IRNA, 23 June)

Comment: With exactly one week left to the 30 June deadline for a final agreement, Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments and Majlis' action today undercut the framework agreement already reached in Lausanne and announced by Zarif and Moghirini on 2 April. Khamenei wants all sanctions be lifted before IAEA inspectors verify Iranian compliance with dismantling part of the country’s nuclear infrastructure. He would not allow IAEA, irrespective of IAEA’s Additional Protocol, to inspect suspected sites, such as Parchin. The Lausanne framework agreement also stipulates a ten-year freeze on 20% enrichment, something Khamenei now appeared to be opposed to. Probably the negotiating partner in the nuclear talks should be Khamenei, and not Zarif. At least we will find out if there is a chance to cut a nuclear deal with Iran. Extending the deadline will not resolve the problem, it only creates a JPOA Forever!

Iranian Parliament Bans IAEA "At Will" Access to Military Sites

The Iranian parliament, Majlis, today voted to ban IAEA inspectors from accessing military installations suspected of nuclear weapons-related work “at will.” The bill was approved by a vote of 199-14. The bill must now be ratified by the Guardian Council.

The bone of contention is the inclusion of IAEA’s so-called Additional Protocol in JCPOA, the final nuclear deal. The additional protocol would require Iran to allow inspectors access to installations suspected of being a “non-declared” nuclear site, including such installations within a military base, like Parchin. But today's action by the Majlis would not allow access on the basis of “anywhere, anytime.” The Majlis did not address the issue of arbitration if Iran refuses an IAEA request for inspection of a suspected site.

The bill might become a stumbling block on the way to signing the final nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers, the Russian broadcaster RT reported today.

Kerry, Zarif Meet in Geneva - UPDATE

UPDATE: It was a shorter than usual meeting between Kerry and Zarif. There were no reports of progress after the meeting. Kerry just tweeded that the meeting was “another chance to speak directly with FM Zarif.” The talks will resume in Vienna on Thursday at deputies and experts level.

Kerry later described the latest round of talks with Zarif as "very constructive."

Speaking after Kerry-Zarif meeting, DFM Araqchi said, “All issues reviewed, but differences still remain.”

*****

Secretary of State John Kerry and the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif are meeting today in Geneva to address issues that could prevent a final nuclear agreement by the 30 June deadline. IAEA on Friday issued a harshly worded report saying its probe into possible military dimensions (PMD) of the Iranian nuclear program has been stalled, raising questions if it could produce its findings on the issue before 30 June.

Meanwhile, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi told Iran’s state TV today that IAEA’s inspections of military sites are “out of questions,” reiterating earlier warnings by Ayatollah Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader. The problem is the IAEA might require the access to military sites suspected of carrying work on nuclear weapons in order to issue its findings on PMD allegations; and those findings are needed before a final agreement is reached. It’s a problem.

But both sides have said they hope to reach the final agreement by next month, although Araqchi today warned that the deadline might need to be extended.

Photo credit: Secretary of Sate John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at Geneva’s Hotel Intercontinental, 30 May 2015 (Twitter/@JohnKerry)

IAEA Says Iran Probe is Stalled

IAEA reported on Friday that work on its assessment of allegations that Iran worked on nuclear weapons, the so-called possible military dimension (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program, remains essentially stalled. As part of a final nuclear deal, or JCPOA, IAEA needs to report its PMD findings. Without such report, reaching JCPOA would not be possible.

IAEA reiterated in today’s report that more cooperation is needed by Iran for fully clarify on its present activities. Without it, the IAEA said, it cannot “conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.” (AP, 29 May)

Iran and IAEA agreed in November 2013 on a protocol to probe PMD. Washington insists that reaching a final agreement with Iran depends on IAEA’s ability to thoroughly probe all allegations related to PMD and deliver an assessment on its findings.

IAEA is reportedly focused on 12 alleged activities that point to Iranian attempts to make nuclear weapons, including suspicions that Tehran worked on the development on a nuclear payload for missiles. Iran denies it has ever worked on nuclear weapons.

Today report by the IAEA increases doubts that the nuclear watchdog agency could issue substantive findings on PMD before the 30 June deadline for reaching the final agreement or JCPOA.

The IAEA report, issued to the agency’s board of governors and the UN Security Council, said the agency remains “concerned about the possible existence in Iran of undisclosed nuclear-related activities involving military-related organizations, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for missiles,.” (AP, 29 May)