MPs say Iran will never allow access to military sites

Senior Iranian parliamentarians say the country will not allow inspection of its military sites “under any circumstances.”

The US has been pressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to request access to Iranian military sites for inspections.

“As senior Iranian government and military officials have repeatedly said Iran’s military sites do not have any connection with its nuclear facilities, and are substantially unrelated to our nuclear activities,” MP Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said Monday.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley flew to IAEA headquarters in Vienna last week to personally lobby with the nuclear agency for access to Iran's military sites. 

Naqavi Hosseini advised the US to remain committed to fulfilling its obligations under the 2015 nuclear accord, "instead of addressing the aspirations that are impossible" and commenting on the forbidden areas and red lines of Iran.

"Under no circumstances will we submit to the inspection of military centers and we cannot allow the foreign side to visit our military centers," said the MP who is the spokesman for Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy.

"If they have a discussion or a subject for discussion, they can discuss it with our diplomats, but they must know that Iran's military centers are secret and its doors will always be closed to the strangers."

The IAEA is tasked with monitoring Iranian compliance with the landmark deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The atomic agency has verified continued Iranian compliance in its latest report. IAEA officials have also said there was no ground for asking Iran to allow access to its military sites.

Naqavi Hosseini said one of the things that keep Iran ready to deal with threats is the country's military sites which should naturally remain intact.

The parliamentary committee’s chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi (seen below) also said, “It is likely that some people may seek access to our country’s military information under the guise of IAEA inspectors.”

He said the Americans are trying to sabotage the nuclear deal and its implementation, because they see themselves a loser, having no diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic. 

"Given the presence of many countries in the Iranian economic arena, the Americans do not see a share staked out for them. Hence, they are seeking to disrupt the implementation of the JCPOA and the lifting of sanctions" on Iran, Boroujerdi said. 

"As a result, the Americans are constantly looking for pretexts and putting pressure on IAEA officials," he added. 

The MP said Iran's military sites have nothing to do with the nuclear issues, and any permission to visit military centers is subject to the decision of the Supreme National Security Council.

Boroujerdi also reiterated Iran's denunciation of nuclear weapons, saying it is the only country that in addition to being a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), "enjoys the robust support of the fatwa" issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei against nuclear weapons.

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