Details of IAEA Inspectors’ Oversight at Bushehr Nuclear Plant
WANA (Sep 01) – The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced that, under parliamentary law and with authorization from the Supreme National Security Council, two International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors monitored the recent fuel replacement process at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Speaking on Sunday, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told state media that the supervision “was carried out under the framework of parliamentary law and with approval from the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council. Two inspectors from the IAEA came to Iran, conducted the necessary monitoring, and then departed.”
Eslami added that discussions with the IAEA are ongoing: “What must be realized under the law is now under negotiation. Two meetings have already been held between the Foreign Ministry and the IAEA, and a third is upcoming.”
Criticizing the agency’s leadership, he said: “Our fundamental problem is that the IAEA’s management and leadership operate under the influence of the global hegemonic system. The Director General himself poses a fundamental issue.”
He added, “While the IAEA is supposed to act in line with its written regulations and UN frameworks, we are witnessing selective and double standards. This management issue is at the core of our dispute with the agency, and we have pursued it through appropriate legal and political measures and will continue to do so.”
Referring to the issue of the “snapback mechanism,” Eslami noted: “This is nothing new. From the start, we anticipated that Iran’s adversaries would always seek pretexts to pressure our nation. Their ultimate goal is to force Iran into submission. Yet despite sanctions, they have failed to achieve their objectives.”
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, also reacted to the presence of two IAEA inspectors in Iran, stressing that Tehran continues to demonstrate a highly responsible and constructive approach in its cooperation with the agency.
He added that provocations by the three European countries through the use of the snapback mechanism have not changed Iran’s stance.
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. AEOI / WANA News Agency
