Iran agrees to grant IAEA access to Parchin: report

TEHRAN, March 7 (MNA) – The Islamic Republic of Iran agreed to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the Parchin military site. According to the report, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the IAEA had made the remarks in a recent statement. Part of the statement read that Parchin is a military site and accessing it is a time-consuming process, and therefore, visits cannot be allowed frequently. However, an access to the site will be given once again after a modality is worked out, it said. It was also mentioned in the statement that Parchin was inspected by the agency twice in 2005. Iran rejected requests by the IAEA delegations to inspect the Parchin military site, which is located southeast of Tehran, during their visits to Iran from January 29 to 31 and February 21 to 22. Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said on February 24 that a framework had to be agreed on for any access or visit. However, in an interview published on February 28, Soltanieh said that the Islamic Republic does not rule out giving the agency access to the country’s military research sites. Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Fereydoun Abbasi said on February 29 that the country’s military officials should decide whether to allow the UN nuclear watchdog to inspect the country’s military sites, including Parchin.