Pars Today

A senior Iranian official has vehemently rejected US demands for UN inspectors to visit Iran’s military sites under the pretext of implementing the nuclear deal between Iran the P5+1 group of countries.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, made the remarks on the sidelines of a Tuesday ceremony in Tehran in response to the Friday statements by US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley.

The ambassador urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to request access to Iranian military sites, in what is regarded as an attempt by the US to undermine the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Haley also accused Iran of previous covert nuclear work. This is while when the JCPOA was implemented, the IAEA permanently closed a file looking into such allegations against Iran, meaning that any such suspicions had been dispelled.

“The Americans should take the dream of being able to inspect our military sites, be it under the pretext of the JCPOA or based on any other justification, to the grave,” Velayati told reporters.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, which is the pivot of resistance in the region, will not allow the Americans and non-Americans to inspect its military sites, which are a crucial and strategic part of national security,” he added.

Meantime, the Iranian government spokesman, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, denounced Haley’s remarks, saying, “The information with regard to Iran’s military sites are classified and access to such locations, specially by the US, is definitely wishful thinking by them.”

Nobakht underlined Iran’s determination to defend any issue which is related to the country’s national interests.

Iran has repeatedly contended that the US demands for access to Iran’s military sites are aimed at politicizing the JCPOA and that issues pertaining to Tehran’s defense capabilities are non-negotiable.

The UK daily, the Guardian, reported Monday that the administration of US President Donald Trump is pressuring intelligence officials in the United States to produce intelligence that could be used to declare Iran in violation of a nuclear deal the president despises.

EA