Iran announces ban on inspection of nuclear sites

Iran Focus Tehran, Iran, Feb. 05 – Iran announced on Sunday that it officially banned snap inspections of its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency and was to resume uranium enrichment after the nuclear agency’s board of governors voted overwhelmingly to report Tehran’s nuclear to the United Nations Security Council.

“As the Islamic Republic of Iran had previously clearly announced its position; the government has been forced to enforce the law ratified in Majlis”, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters at a press conference.

“This law was put into action since yesterday when the president [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] ordered the Atomic Energy Organisation [of Iran], and in accordance with the Majlis law all voluntary cooperation which we had with the IAEA over the past 2 ½ to 3 years has been suspended”, Mottaki said.

“At present we have no obligation to adhere to the [IAEA’s] Additional Protocol or to carry out voluntary cooperation”, he said.

Mottaki went on to say that the United States had been “defeated” in its attempt to ensure that the 35-nation board of governors of the IAEA voted unanimously to report Iran to the UN Security Council.

On Saturday, the board adopted a European resolution reporting Tehran’s nuclear file to the Security Council with 27 votes in its favour, three votes against, and five abstentions.