TEHRAN, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian official has said the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) current safeguards agreement is not designed for wartime conditions and needs revision, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.
As a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has signed a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, "which has been prepared in a way to govern normal circumstances, not the ones pertaining to wartime," the report quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as saying.
Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA in late June under a parliamentary law, citing the agency's failure to condemn the Israeli and U.S. attacks earlier that month on its nuclear sites and concerns about the safety of its facilities and scientists. Despite the suspension, Iran previously said it remained committed to the NPT and abided by its safeguards agreement.
The IAEA has repeatedly requested access to the bombed sites, which Iran has refused. Kamalvandi said that allowing inspections of the attacked sites could provide data to Iran's "enemies," according to the report.
He stressed the need for new, legally-binding guarantees from the IAEA to prevent data "abuse" before cooperation can resume.
Meanwhile, inspections at facilities not targeted by the attacks remain possible, he added.
On June 13, Israel launched major surprise airstrikes on several areas in Iran, including nuclear and military sites, killing senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians. On June 22, U.S. forces bombed the three Iranian nuclear facilities of Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. ■
