Iranian Regime Officials: We Will Not Allow IAEA To Enter Iranian Military Sites; 'The Claim Of Such A Right Is Fabricated By [IAEA Director] Amano Himself'

The late August request by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Yukiya Amano that IAEA inspectors be allowed to conduct inspections at military sites in Iran, not just at Iran's declared nuclear sites, and Amano's statement that the IAEA is authorized to enter all sites in Iran, whether nuclear or military, were rejected absolutely and unanimously by Iranian regime officials. The officials stressed that this deviates from the JCPOA, which does not allow foreigners, including IAEA inspectors, to visit military sites in Iran, and that Iran will not allow any foreign element to visit them. They also attacked IAEA director-general Amano, saying that he was "fabricating" things that were not included in the JCPOA.

The following are some of the major statements by Iranian regime officials in the past few weeks in this matter:

Velayati: "The Agreements With The IAEA Include No Mention Of Access To Military Sites [In Iran]; The Claim Of Such A Right Is Fabricated By Amano Himself"

Ali Akbar Velayati, top advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said on September 12, 2017: "It is forbidden for foreigners to enter Iran's military centers. [IAEA director Yukiya] Amano said yesterday that if necessary, the IAEA can obtain access to Iran's military sites, and that there is no difference between military and non-military sites. I say that the agreements with the IAEA include no mention of access [for IAEA inspectors] to military sites [in Iran], and that had it done so, we would not have agreed to it. The claim of such a right is fabricated by Amano himself...

"No foreign element, including Amano and his inspectors, is entitled to visit our military centers, because they are considered prohibited areas. [Iran's] security sphere is considered absolutely secret to any foreigner."[1] 

On August 29, Velayati said: "The Americans will take this dream that we will allow them to visit our sensitive and military areas with them to their grave. They will take to their grave [their wish that] they will visit our military facilities, on the pretext of the JCPOA or any other pretext. We will in no way allow them to do this. [President] Trump's statements were for domestic purposes, and he knows that he has no respect or influence in the region. Particularly Iran, which is the axis of the resistance, is in no way allowing visits to sensitive areas."[2]

Former Chief of Staff Firouzabadi: "Haley Is Lying" About The JCPOA; We Will Not Allow Visits To Military Centers

Hassan Firouzabadi, top military advisor to Khamenei and former Iranian chief of staff, said on August 27: "U.S. representative to the UN Nikki Haley is... lying [about the JCPOA]. The JCPOA does not allow visits to the military centers. In Iran, no element, domestic or foreign – not even elements from [Iran's own] armed forces – are allowed to visit the military centers, except with the permission of the Leader [Khamenei]."[3]

Foreign Minister Zarif: "Haley's Statements Show Her Ignorance About The Content Of The JCPOA Agreement"

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on August 23: "The JCPOA has a full framework, and every area has defined solutions that have been discussed and written about in great detail. Perhaps this agreement does not include everything that one of the sides desired, and this is natural. No agreement includes all the desires of one of the sides, because otherwise they would call it not an agreement but operating instructions. This agreement is called the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] in order to show that all the sides have arrived at a meeting point in the middle vis-à-vis their desires.

"Haley's comments show her ignorance about the content of the JCPOA agreement. In all the areas on which Haley has expressed her opinion, the JCPOA itself [discusses] them clearly and explicitly.

"The scope of visits [to Iran's sites] is defined by the JCPOA. Haley's claim about the verification [of suspicions] by the IAEA is fundamentally mistaken... because the JCPOA defines the matter of verification, its framework, and its principles, and at this time what is written in the JCPOA is being implemented.

"Perhaps Haley wants something other [than what the JCPOA states], but she cannot present her demands, wishes, and desires as problems with the JCPOA. If, like her colleagues, Haley had been present during the talks, she would realize that what is agreed in the JCPOA is something balanced to which all the participants agreed, not something that includes only the demands and desires of one or several of the sides in the JCPOA. This truth is stated also in the statements of the European elements and of the allies of America."[4]

Also, on September 13, Zarif said: "Section 74 of Annex I of the JCPOA emphasizes that a visit [to Iran's military sites] cannot be a pretext for collecting information about Iran's secrets."[5]

Deputy IRGC Commander Salami: The Americans' Request To Visit Our Military Sites Will Be Buried With Them

Hossein Salami, deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), told Iranian Channel 1 television in an interview that aired August 12: "Let me make one point to the great Iranian nation, America, and the entire world. If there was one request throughout history and worldwide that will remain unfulfilled and will be denied, if there is one wish that will be taken by its bearers to the grave, it is this [request]: that they visit our military facilities."[6]

To view Salami's statements on MEMRI TV, click here or below:

Deputy Chief Of Staff Pourdestan: "We Will Not Allow Anyone To Visit Iran's Military Centers"

Iranian Deputy Chief of Staff Ahmad Reza Pourdestan said on September 13: "We will not allow anyone to visit Iran's military centers. The armed forces chief of staff has a clear line in the matter of visiting the military centers. According to what is in the JCPOA, the military centers are not included in the visits, and [Iran's] mighty armed forces will defend this right [to have them excluded from inspection] and will not allow any visit."[7]

Iranian Government Spokesman Nobakht: "We Wil Not Agree To Anything Outside [The JCPOA], Particularly [Not] Visits To Military Sites"

Government spokesman Mohammad Baqr Nobakht said on August 29: "In the matter of Nikki Haley's meeting with Amano, and the request to visit Iran's military sites, my colleagues in the Foreign Ministry have explicitly stated their opinion. We will not agree to anything outside the framework [of the JCPOA], particularly [not] to visits to military sites about which information is secret and absolutely classified. They are expressing their dreams. We are determined to defend everything that ensures our national interests."[8]

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qassemi: "It Is Not Possible To Change The Framework Of The Cooperation With The IAEA"

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on August 27: "It is not possible to change the framework of the cooperation with the IAEA. We will not submit to the exaggerated demands of certain governments, and we will not allow foreigners to enter forbidden sites, according to the understandings of the JCPOA."[9]

Majlis Official Boroujerdi: "It Is Forbidden To Visit Iran's Military Centers; This Is Impossible"

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee head Ala Al-Din Boroujerdi said on September 5: "Iran will not allow any country access to its military information. No country allows another to visit its military sites. Iran's military sites are included in [Iran's] red lines, and the Iranian elements have said many times that we are not allowing any organization or country to visit them. The Americans must know that the JCPOA has no connection to any defensive and military matter in Iran, and it is Iran's absolute right to defend its military sites with its full might. It is forbidden to visit Iran's military centers. This is impossible. The military sites in Iran are under the authority of the armed forces, and the armed forces commanders have stated many times that foreigners are prohibited from visiting them."[10]

Majlis Official Naqavi Hosseini: "No Way Will We Allow Visits To Our Military Centers"

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesman Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said on September 4: "No way will we allow visits to our military centers. If they have a question on the subject of the JCPOA, they can talk about it with our diplomats, but they need to know that even [Iranian] governmental elements have said that the military centers are secret and that their doors will always be closed to foreigners.

"One of the things that give us the ability to fight the threats is our military achievements and the military equipment of the armed forces. It is natural that this too will remain secret.

"I suggest to the Americans that, instead of dealing with impossible dreams, they meet their obligations under the JCPOA, and not express an opinion regarding the forbidden areas and regarding Iran's red lines."[11]

Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani: "Not Only Is [America] Evil But It Is Presumptuous"; Amano Is "Mistaken"

Friday preacher Ayatollah Mohavedi Kermani said on September 8: "America is very presumptuous; not only is it evil, but it is presumptuous for demanding to visit our military sites. You do not have permission to visit our military sites. Who will allow you to do this?! America will take this dream of visiting military sites to the grave.

"The JCPOA determines visits [only] to the nuclear sites; if Amano says that he can visit the military places, he is mistaken."[12]