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This is a Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010 file photo of Christopher Tappin as he reads a statement at a press conference in London. The retired businessman is accused by the United States of exporting missile components to Iran . Britain will overhaul its extradition laws amid concerns the United States is able to fly suspects out of the U.K. with little proof they have committed a crime, Home Secretary Theresa May said Wednesday Sept. 8, 2010. May said in a written statement to Parliament that a review of current laws would consider whether the present rules are "unbalanced" in favor of the U.S. and against British citizens. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
By NASSER KARIMI
Source:
September 7, 2010
TEHRAN, Iran – said Tehran has the right to bar some U.N. inspectors from monitoring its disputed nuclear program, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
Ali Akbar Salehi’s comments were in response to a report by the expressing alarm about Iran’s decision to bar some of its inspectors.
Iran recently stripped two inspectors of the right to monitor its nuclear activities after they reported what they said were undeclared nuclear experiments.
ISNA also quoted Salehi as saying Iran asked the agency to replace the two and that it has accepted the replacements.
“This is our right as well as the right of other members of the agency to choose the inspectors,” Salehi said late Monday. “Basically, all select from a list provided by the agency.”
While all member states select inspectors from an official IAEA list, some Western nations on the agency’s 35-nation board argue that because Iran has banned more than 40 inspectors over the past four years, a case could be made that Tehran is violating the agency’s so-called Safeguards Agreement.
The agreement is meant to ensure that the IAEA can monitor without impediments to make sure it is solely for peaceful purposes.
The West, led by the United States, suspects that Iran’s nuclear program is geared toward making weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying the program is for peaceful purposes only.
Commenting on the latest IAEA report, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, said it showed that Iran is still enriching large amounts of uranium “and this is not good news.”
In Washington, spokesman P.J. Crowley said the report underscored the Obama administration’s concerns about a possible military dimension to key aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, including uranium enrichment and a heavy water research reactor under construction.
Salehi, also the Islamic Republic’s vice president, urged the Vienna-based atomic agency to steer a fair and neutral course, arguing that the IAEA’s credibility depended on that.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast echoed Salehi’s comments on Tuesday.
“We have the right to replace inspectors regarding their background and activities,” he said.
In a related development, six Arab nations across the Persian Gulf from Iran issued a statement Tuesday calling on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, saying they wanted Tehran to adhere to the principles of international law and help efforts to make the Middle East a region free of .
The statement was issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council, a loose political and economic alliance that groups Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
The statement’s reference to a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction reflected fears by the six nations that Iran could develop nuclear weapons.
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Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna and Angela Charlton in Paris and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.