January 31-2014
. . . just thinking
The Islamic Republic isn’t waiting for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ask permission for setting up a permanent office in Tehran; Iran has already given a thumbs down.
The rapid rejection is likely to raise questions about Iran’s willingness to cooperate with the agency, which has the responsibility of monitoring Iran’s compliance with the interim nuclear agreement Iran reached with the Big Six.
The IAEA Board of Governors last week unanimously approved that new role for the IAEA. As a result, the agency will be making more inspection visits to more sites more frequently.
IAEA officials told reporters a few weeks ago that they were thinking of seeking authority from Iran to open up an office in Tehran, where they could
store equipment and keep records. Until now, visiting inspectors have just stayed a short while on each visit and have worked out of their hotel rooms.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said Friday that he was thinking of seeking office space in Tehran.
But the very next day, Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, stepped on the idea.
“In our opinion, considering the volume of nuclear activities in the country, there is no need for setting up a nuclear watchdog office in Iran,” he said. It was curious that he rejected the idea before the IAEA had even proposed it and explained its rationale for setting up an office. It was also curious that he characterized Iran’s nuuclear program as tiny, when the regime has spent years boasting of its scope.
The IAEA currently has two teams of two inspectors each that rotate flying to Iran to make visits to Iran’s nuclear sites. Amano said the IAEA would have to double its staffing to cover the requirements of the interim agreement.
Amano said the agency would need an additional $7.5 million in its budget over the next six months to cover the added monitoring. He said 10 nations had so far pledged additional funds, but he didn’t name the countries or say if the pledges cover the full need.
