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Iran Invites Inspectors to Nuclear Site Iran Invites Inspectors to Nuclear Site
(about 5 hours later)
LONDON — Five days after Iran struck a landmark accord with world powers on its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Thursday that Tehran had invited international inspectors to visit a heavy water production plant covered by the deal — the first tangible step since the agreement was concluded. LONDON — Five days after Iran struck a landmark accord with world powers on its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Thursday that Tehran had invited its inspectors to visit a heavy water production plant linked to the deal — the first tangible step since the agreement was concluded.
In a speech to the 35-nation governing board of the I.A.E.A., Yukiya Amano, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said the invitation was for inspectors to travel to the Arak plant on Dec. 8. In a speech in Vienna, the director general of the agency, Yukiya Amano, said the invitation was for inspectors to travel to the plant in Arak, in central Iran, on Dec. 8. Mr. Amano told reporters that it was “for sure” that inspectors would accept the offer.
While Mr. Amano did not specifically say the invitation had been accepted, he added that “all other outstanding issues” relating to the I.A.E.A.'s differences with Iran would be addressed “in subsequent steps.” The invitation was limited to the heavy water production facility on the same site as a reactor under construction to which international inspectors have had some access, Mr. Amano said. The facility producing heavy water, used in some types of reactors to control nuclear activity, has been off limits to inspectors for more than two years.
Mr. Amano visited Tehran on Nov. 11 and said he had agreed with high-ranking officials there that Iran would permit “managed access” to at least two contentious sites — the Gachin mine in Bandar Abbas and the heavy-water production plant being built in Arak, which could be used in the production of plutonium potentially for use in weapons. Part of the deal in Geneva specifically provided for Iran not to produce fuel for the Arak plant, install additional reactor components there or put the plant into operation. If it became fully operational, the reactor would produce plutonium that could be used in a nuclear weapon.
But the promise of wider scrutiny did not extend to the Parchin military site southwest of Tehran, where I.A.E.A. inspectors suspect that Iran at one time tested triggering devices for nuclear weapons. In return for that and other curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program, the powers promised a limited easing of the international economic sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.
In the lexicon of nuclear scrutiny, “managed access” usually denotes ground rules allowing host countries to protect information that they consider proprietary or secret, while permitting inspectors to collect the data they require, officials said. The speed with which Tehran offered access to Arak was taken by some analysts as a sign that Iran’s leaders wanted to press ahead with the deal, which is intended as an interim accord lasting six months during which negotiators are to discuss a comprehensive settlement.
The watchdog has also questioned whether the Gachin mine, which produces yellowcake uranium for conversion to nuclear fuel, is linked to Iran’s military. The announcement on Thursday did not specifically mention access to the mine. The dispute hinges on the purpose of Iran’s nuclear program, which Western leaders say is designed to acquire the technology for atomic weapons. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
Formally, Iran’s dealings with the I.A.E.A. run on a separate track from the negotiations that produced last weekend’s agreement in Geneva between Tehran and world powers — the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany, Britain and the European Union. Mr. Amano also told the agency’s board on Thursday that Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s top foreign policy official, who played a central part in the Geneva negotiations, had said in a letter that the I.A.E.A., the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, “will have an important role in the verification of the nuclear-related measures” agreed to in Geneva. He suggested that the agency might need more money and experts to fulfill that role.
But part of the deal in Geneva specifically provided for Iran not to produce fuel for the Arak plant, install additional reactor components there or put the plant into operation. “We are now looking at the way in which the elements of the agreement relevant to the agency could be put into practice,” he said. “This will include the implications for funding and staffing. This analysis will take some time.” Diplomats said the review could take until January.
In return for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program, the world powers promised a limited easing of the punitive international economic sanctions which have crippled the Iranian economy. Mr. Amano, who visited Tehran on Nov. 11, said he had agreed with high-ranking officials there that Iran would permit “managed access” to at least two contentious sites — the Gachin mine in Bandar Abbas and the Arak plant, which Iranian officials say is designed to produce medical isotopes.
The speed with which Tehran offered access to Arak was taken by some analysts as a sign that Iran wanted to press ahead soon with implementation of the deal, which is intended as an interim accord lasting six months during which negotiators are to discuss a comprehensive settlement. The term “managed access” usually denotes arrangements allowing host countries to protect information that they consider proprietary or secret, while permitting inspectors to collect the data they require, officials said.
The dispute hinges around the purpose of Iran’s nuclear program, which Western leaders say is designed to acquire the technology for atomic weapons. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes. The promise of inspections did not extend to the Parchin military site southwest of Tehran, where I.A.E.A. inspectors suspect that Iran at one time tested triggering devices for nuclear weapons.
I.A.E.A. inspectors, who travel regularly to Iran, have not been permitted to visit the Arak site since 2011. Iranian officials say the Arak reactor is designed to produce medical isotopes. The organization has also questioned whether the Gachin mine, which produces yellowcake uranium for conversion to nuclear fuel, is linked to Iran’s military. Mr. Amano’s announcement on Thursday did not specifically mention access to the mine. But, he said, “all other outstanding issues” relating to the I.A.E.A.'s differences with Iran would be addressed “in subsequent steps.”