News analysis |
Iran has rejected the US demand of a UN inspection campaign of Iran’s military sites, calling it wishful thinking and “merely a dream”. Besides, the country says that International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) would not agree to the proposal.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, last week pressed the IAEA to seek access to Iranian military bases to ensure that they were not concealing activities banned by the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major powers.
The health of the nuclear deal is essential for regional peace. Iran and the US are already jostling for influence in Syria and Iraq, an annulment of the deal will not only hasten but guarantee the development of the dreaded bomb
The dual use of nuclear technology and ease of switchability are not the only factors that add to US fears. Earlier this month, the head of Iran’s Nuclear program had said that the country requires 5 days to convert LEU into HEU, adding to suspicions about the future of the nuclear deal and the highly-touted grandiose designs of Iran.
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“Iran’s military sites are off limits. All information about these sites is classified. Iran will never allow such visits. Don’t pay attention to such remarks that are only a dream” said government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht.
President Rouhani who had earlier warned of a tit for tat if the deal is flouted or more pressure is exerted said that the IAEA is unlikely to agree to the proposals. He said: “The International Atomic Energy Agency is very unlikely to accept America’s demand to inspect our military sites.”
Trump is averse to Tehran by all means; he mocked the Iranian elections; he implored Muslim countries to fight Iran. Moreover, his unwillingness to wholeheartedly sympathize with the Iranians when Tehran was attacked by the ISIS in June this year
Thus far, IAEA inspectors have certified that Iran is fully complying with the deal, under which it significantly reduced its enriched uranium stockpile and took steps to ensure no possible use of it for a nuclear weapon. Trump gingerly ratified this fact to the Congress. However, Trump is singularly focused on picking up something that shows Iran’s violation. He has hinted that the US may declare Tehran’s noncompliance in October.
“The Americans will take their dream of visiting our military and sensitive sites to their graves … It will never happen,” Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority, told reporters.
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Cornering Tehran
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, last week pressed the IAEA to seek access to Iranian military bases to ensure that they were not concealing activities banned by the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major power
Trump is averse to Tehran by all means; he mocked the Iranian elections; he implored Muslim countries to fight Iran. Moreover, his unwillingness to wholeheartedly sympathize with the Iranians when Tehran was attacked by the ISIS in June this year.
This has resulted in a strengthened voice for hardliners in the country. Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei has categorically said that the ISIS was created by the US. Cooperation or even a detente between the two countries looks untenable.
All said and done, the health of the nuclear deal is essential for regional peace. Iran and the US are already jostling for influence in Syria and Iraq, an annulment of the deal will not only hasten but guarantee the development of the dreaded bomb. The US has little reasons to think that pushing Iran will make it succumb to Washington’s pressure.