Tehran, Iran, May 26
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Senior Iranian nuclear negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that adopting the Additional Protocol to the NPT has not been a "red line" for the Islamic Republic so far.
"From the beginning we were given permission to adopt the Additional Protocol along the negotiations," he said, Fars news agency reported May 26.
He pointed out that even if the nuclear negotiators accept adopting the Additional Protocol, the approval of the parliament is needed before the government signs it.
Iran and the group P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) are in talks over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program to reach a final agreement by the end of June.
Adopting the Additional Protocol to the NPT has been among the demands made by the P5+1 for reaching a deal.
Araqchi went on to say that Iran has no problem with regular inspections by the IAEA such as those commonly carried out in other countries to be implemented in Iran as well.
"But we will not allow these inspections to be misused for accessing the country's classified information, identifying scientists, or discovering some state policies. This is one of our very bold red lines," Araqchi asserted.
"We had been ordered to cooperate with the IAEA within common international frameworks ... one of which is the Additional Protocol," he said.
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