Even though Iran is facing one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus, regime leaders remain undeterred from further development of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in defiance of the international community.
Iranian officials informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that they will not respond to any questions regarding past atomic activities at several undeclared installations. The blatant rejection infuriated the IAEA, terming it to be “a serious matter” that must be addressed. “Now I receive a formal denial. It’s not a ‘maybe, let’s talk.’ It’s no. So, when I get a no I say ‘I need the access,’” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, adding “What we need is access” and “a technical conversation, more than anything else.”
The IAEA Director General further noted that, “We never had a thing like this before. And forget for a second, even if it’s difficult, forget about Iran. I would invite you all to forget about Iran. If I get a denial under additional protocol for complementary access, this is a serious matter. It’s not something that I can put on the shelf and continue.”
In response to Iranian allegations that the request for IAEA inspections was prompted by what Tehran officials claimed to be “fabricated Israeli evidence,” Grossi insisted, “I want to be clear on that what we are requesting is within the competencies of the agency, so there is no interpretation here.” He then repeated, “Of course, we can talk, we can discuss and I am very open to that. But it’s a straightforward request within the competencies of the agency, within the strict terms of the additional protocol so we hope, I really hope that Iran will revisit its position so far and will give us access very soon.”