Nacartes To Head For Tehran Tuesday For Nuclear Talks

Vienna, Feb 12, IRNA – Deputy Sec Gen of IAEA Herman Nacartes who last Wednesday participated at 34th anniversary of Islamic Revolution in Vienna, is heading for Tehran Tuesday to participate in 9th round of Iran-agency nuclear talks. According to IRNA, the 9th round of negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency is scheduled to be held in Tehran on Wednesday. Representative of Iran at the IAEA, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, too, arrived in Tehran two days ago to participate at this round of talks. Iran and the agency have been negotiation for over a year over devising a modality to clarify how Tehran is to respond to the agencyˈs questions on possible military dimensions (PMD) of its peaceful nuclear program. Iran considers the 2007 modality a good model for devising the new modality. According to the 2007modality, or work plan, also referred to as the INFCIRC/711 document, the six remaining issues, namely the plutonium tests, the P1 and P2 centrifuges, the source of pollution, the document on metallic uranium, plutonium 110, and Gachin Mine were entirely clarified in the year 2008 and the former IAEA secretary general presented the respective report to the agencyˈs Board of Governors. The proposal for devising a new modality was for the first time presented by the Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi. Salehi in the summer of 2011 in a visit of Vienna and talks with Yokia Amano proposed that if the agency would announced that the 2007 modality file was closed Iran would be ready to enter the talks for devising a new modality. Although Amano did not announce that the dossier of the 2007 modality was closed, in order to show good will, the Islamic Republic of Iran entered a new round of talks aimed at achieving agreement on a new modality. The Deputy Secretary General of IAEA Herman Nacartes who is usually the head of agencyˈs negotiation delegation with Iran a month after Salehiˈs visit of Vienna on an invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran had a five day visit of Iran during which he visited Iranˈs nuclear facilities. In that visit Nacartes and his accompanying delegation visited the Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Natanz and Fordo enrichment facilities, Isfahan nuclear faculties including the fuel rods production factory and the Arak Heavy Water Reactor and the Arak Heavy Water Production Factory. In that visit the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to prove its good will in an unprecedented move even permitted the IAEA deputy secretary general to visit the research and development site of advanced centrifuges. The major activates of Nacartes in that visit included negotiation over the way of implementing the process of NPT inspections at Fordo facilities and pursuing the studies about the new claims. Last February, too, he had a three day visit of Iran as the head of the negotiating team to take part at the first round of talks. Three weeks after that, on February 19th, Nacartes had a two day visit of Iran to take part at the 2nd round of the Iran-agency talks. After that Iran and the agency held a number of rounds of talks in Vienna, until on May 21st this year when Amano had a one day visit of Tehran and Nacartes, too, accompanied him. Negotiations between Iran and the agency for achieving a new modality continued in Vienna and in Tehran, but as of the previous Board of Governors session in December these negotiations entered a new phase. The IAEA secretary general announced in that session in Vienna that the agency has got stocked in talks with Iran over reaching a modality to solve the issue. Amano also pointed out that the agency is strongly willing to negotiate with Iran, reiterating, ˈThe time for diplomatic salutation of the Iranian nuclear issue has come. All of us must take advantage of this opportunity to solve this issue thru a diplomatic channel.ˈ Following these comments by Amano, the 7th round of talks between Iran and the agency were held in Tehran last month and both sides evaluated them as positive and progressing. Nacartes who was the head of the seven member IAEA delegation them upon return to Vienna announced that the negotiations were progressing. He who was speaking at a press conference announced that the agency expects to put to affect the established viewpoint in the final round of talks and expressed hope that during the upcoming round of talks Iran and the agency would devise the modality aimed at solving the entire remaining issues. Tehran, too, evaluated the 7th round of talks with the agency as constructive and progressive. According to the reached agreement, it was agreed that the 8th round of talks would be held on February 15th in Tehran, but again the agreement on the new modality was not achieved. Although Nacartes announced upon return to Vienna that the talks between the agency and Iran would continue, but meanwhile he said that due to some differences of opinion in this round of talks we could no finalize the new modality. One of the major differences of opinion between Iran and the agency is over delivering the documents on the calms made against Iran, as Tehran believes the side who makes a claim must present documents for his claims. Tehran also believes that any type of modality must have a step by step approach, which means after finishing an issue dealing with the next should begin. Iran also believes that the agency must consider a ceiling for its questions and accept that if all those questions were answered no new question should be added to them. The next issue is that keeping in mind that cooperation in the field of the Possible Military Dimension (PMD) is neither in accordance with the nuclear NPT, not even in accordance with the protocol one of the duties of Iran, the agency must make clear in response to Iranˈs cooperation in that respect what equal reply to would give to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The next issue is related to Parchin. Iran believes in this respect that since the issue of the Parchin military felicities is beyond the NPT barriers, so long as the new modality is not finalized and signed inspecting that site is not possible. The other point is that in response to Moscowˈs proposal, Iran has clearly announced it would reply to the questions on PMD only after the entire unilaterally imposed sanctions of the western countries would be lifted. In fact Tehran has based on a proposal of Moscow linked the negotiations with the G5+1 with the talks with the agency, making conditional the first to the second. Therefore, in return for Iranˈs cooperation with the agency, it is the G5+1 that must prepare itself for giving concessions. At any rate, the most important difference of opinion is on weather after the end of the six issues related to the claims made about the possible military dimensions, would be willing to sum up the issue and refrain from proposing new questions? If the agency would not be willing to do so, then the question is: In response to which achievement should Iran cooperate with the agency over the most sensitive military issues? Some analysts argue that this is in fact beyond the will of the agency and it is the G5+1 that must provide the required political guarantees in this respect. In more clear words, since these negotiations are political and not legal, therefore Iran must gain the required bonuses and guarantees in the political field from the G5+1 so that it would be able to give concessions in return. Holding the 9th round of talks between Tehran and the agency on Wednesday can play a determining rile in this respect./end