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Iran rejects military site inspection under nuclear deal
by Joseph Earnest May 20, 2015
Newscast Media TEHRAN—Iran will not allow inspections to any of its military sites by foreigners under the pretext of a possible nuclear deal, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said here on Wednesday.
Iran will neither give in to pressures in nuclear talks nor accept excessive demands by the West, Khamenei said when addressing scholars from Iran's Imam Hossein University.
"The more withdrawal, the more advancement the greedy enemy will make," he said, accusing the West of using "coercive language" at the negotiation table.
He said the West has demanded to talk with Iranian scientists and researchers about the country's indigenized and national nuclear progress, adding that "we will not allow the boundaries of Iranian nuclear scientists and other sensitive fields to be violated."
It is the duty of all Iranian officials to withstand the "excessive demands" by the West, and they should know that the only way to face enemy is to "have strong will and to avoid passivity," he said.
"We expect the Iranian negotiators (in ongoing nuclear talks) to present this message of the Iranian nation," he added.
Khamenei's words reaffirmed Iran's stance in the talks. Iranian negotiator Hamid Baeidinejad said earlier that Iran will not allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect Iran's military sites.
"Iran's military facilities have nothing to do with the nuclear issue and need not be inspected by the UN nuclear agency," Baeidinejad said.
However, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed confidence on Wednesday in the upcoming talks, saying "the end of the negotiations will bring glory to Iran."
"With support from the people, we will be able to bring about victory in the international arena for the Iranian nation," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Press TV.
A report by Press TV on Wednesday said that the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has failed to convince some lawmakers regarding a number of questions over nuclear negotiations.
Zarif attended a session of the Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Tuesday to respond to questions raised by ten legislators.
However, he failed to convince the lawmakers about the Foreign Ministry's refusal to release a fact sheet regarding a mutual understanding reached between Tehran and the six global powers in Switzerland in April.
Therefore, the foreign minister will attend an open session of parliament to answer questions about the nuclear issue, according to the report.
Iran and world powers will begin a new round of negotiations to finalize an accord on the country's nuclear issue in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Wednesday.
Iranian deputy foreign minister and senior negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, will meet EU political director Helga Schmid on Wednesday to resume drafting the text of the deal before the end of June deadline.
Iran and the P5+1 group, Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States, plus Germany, have held several rounds of talks on a comprehensive nuclear accord since 2008.
The latest round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 concluded in Vienna last Friday.
Iran's nuclear program has long been a subject of concern for western powers, who believe it to be geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists it has an inalienable right to develop its civilian atomic plan. Add Comments>>
Source: Xinhua
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