Claims of Parchin site clean-up are propaganda: Iran

TEHRAN,March 14(MNA) – International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano’s recent remarks that Iran may be trying to remove evidence from the Parchin military site are propagandistic, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. Ramin Mehmanparast made the remarks during his regular press briefing in reply to a question asked by the correspondent for the Tehran Times about the remarks that Amano made on March 9, in which he said that he did not rule out the possibility that Iran might had been trying to sanitize the Parchin site, which is located southeast of Tehran, of any incriminating evidence of explosives tests that would indicate efforts to design nuclear weapons. Mehmanparast said, “It is common knowledge that the site is a military site, and conventional military activities are being carried out in the site. Therefore, I think that comments being made about military nuclear activities are not very precise and prudent. They have made remarks saying that the evidence of military nuclear activities in this area are being cleaned up, but those who are familiar with technical nuclear issues know that these remarks are not remarks worth paying attention to. “Basically, if military nuclear activities are carried out, evidence of them can never be cleaned up, and the issue is mostly propaganda. “Conventional military activities are being carried out in the Parchin site. Demands to inspect the site had already been made, and two inspections had been conducted. They (IAEA officials) again demanded a visit. The Iranian side has not opposed to the mere visit, but the series of activities that are going to be carried out between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the agency should be within a framework and an agreement. “Even if the agency’s negotiating team, which visited Iran, had been more patient and had stayed in Iran longer, a visit could have been possible if an agreement had been made on a new modality.” Iran is ready to help clear up the ambiguities, he added. Tehran rejected requests by the IAEA delegations to inspect the Parchin site during their visits to Iran from January 29 to 31 and February 21 to 22.