IAEA chief hails Iran roadmap as technically sound

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the agency's recent nuclear agreement with Iran to verify the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear program is technically sound.

Yukiya Amano said in a Thursday statement that Iran and the IAEA have agreed on a series of “separate arrangements” under the agreed roadmap which are “confidential” and cannot be made public based on legal obligations.

He described the roadmap signed by Iran and the UN agency in July as "robust enough to verify outstanding issues" on Tehran's nuclear program.

"I can state that the arrangements are technically sound and consistent with our long-established practices. They do not compromise our safeguards standards in any way,” Amano said. 

The comments came two days after The Associated Press claimed that it has seen a document showing that the IAEA has allowed Iran to use its “own inspectors” to investigate a site which some claim is related to the country's nuclear program.

Amano said he is “disturbed” by media reports, saying they "misrepresent" the way in which the UN body will undertake the verification work.

'Media clamor to continue'

Later in the day, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA also slammed what he called attempts to undermine the Iran-IAEA agreement and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries - the US, the UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany - on July 14. 

"We anticipate that this media clamor will probably continue until the day the JCPOA is implemented and even after that," said Reza Najafi in an interview with IRIB, adding, "Such fabrications are meant to influence this process.” 

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran dismissed as speculation the AP’s alleged access to the confidential provisions of Iran-IAEA roadmap.

“The Agency has so far respected its commitments with regard to safeguarding confidential documents and information [enshrined in] the bilateral agreement with our country and no action has been carried out in contravention of these commitments,” Behrouz Kamalvandi said.

On July 14, Iran and the IAEA signed a roadmap for “the clarification of past and present issues” regarding Iran’s nuclear program in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The deal came on the same day Iran and the six world powers reached an agreement that would give Iran relief from international sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

The IAEA confirmed in mid-August that Iran has complied with the timeframe set in the roadmap and has given the nuclear body the information regarding its past nuclear activities.

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