An Iranian official has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to maintain its independence and impartiality on Iran's nuclear case and respect Tehran's security concerns.
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Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) told IRIB News Agency on Saturday that the agency’s independence and impartiality is what matters to Tehran, adding that the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano is expected to guarantee the agency's independence.
The Iranian official said measures taken and remarks made by Amano play an important role in the way other countries assess the IAEA’s independence.
The IAEA director general is set to travel to the United States next week to meet with members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the agency’s role in verification and monitoring of nuclear-related measures in Iran.
Iran and the IAEA signed a road-map on July 14 in Vienna for “the clarification of past and present issues” regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Kamalvandi said Iran has always emphasized that its considerations and concerns over confidentiality of information on its nuclear program and the agreement with the IAEA should be taken into account.
“We expect [the IAEA] to take into consideration our country’s security concerns based on the agency’s Statute and the Safeguards Agreement,” the AEOI spokesman added.
The signing of the agreement between Iran and the IAEA came on the same day that the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – finalized the text of an agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna.
Under the JCPOA, limits are put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for a set of commitments undertaken by the P5+1, including for the removal of all economic and financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Some members of the US Congress have asked for more information to be made public on the IAEA’s role in verifying Iran’s implementation of the agreement.
