In an interview with the state-run BBC’s HARDtalk program on Monday, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh said the US and European politicians are not telling the truth about Iran's nuclear energy program and international sanctions to their people.
Therefore, Soltaniyeh added, sanctions have had no effect on Iran's nuclear energy program except for strengthening the determination of the Iranian people and government and increasing the Iranian hatred of Western countries.
“The reports of IAEA director general [Yukiya Amano] show [that] any time they impose sanctions [on Iran], the number of centrifuge machines will increase and the [nuclear] work will be accelerated,” Iran's IAEA ambassador said.
Soltaniyeh said Western sanctions are in fact targeting the ordinary Iranians and, therefore, Western politicians are lying about their true effect to their own people and to the world.
Inspecting Parchin requires special modality
Asked about IAEA's request on Iran to get access to the military site in Parchin and Iran's refusal to do so, Soltaniyeh said that the IAEA inspectors in fact visited the site two times in 2005.
“Our officials were so kind and they permitted the agency’s inspectors to go wherever they wanted and they found nothing in fact and it was reported by [former IAEA director general] Mr. ElBaradei,” Soltaniyeh added.
Iran's IAEA ambassador said Iran's point is that since inspecting Parchin is a specific investigation and has nothing to do with IAEA's routine inspections under the NPT it should be negotiated by the two sides to work out a framework for it.
“We are discussing [this issue]. When this framework is negotiated and agreed upon, like the modality in 2007, then based on that one, of course, the inspectors and our experts will start their work [in Parchin],” he noted.
Soltaniyeh added that Iran is prepared to remove any ambiguities about IAEA director general’s November 2011 report including the issue of Parchin or any other issue which may be raised.
He emphasized that Iran wants this problem “to be solved once and forever to put an end to this endless process.
“They have [also] to deliver documents about these allegations [on Iran's nuclear activities in Parchin]…. We have had good progress and we are on the right track. Let’s not politicize this issue. Sooner or later, all questions will be answered,” Soltaniyeh said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Soltaniyeh added that Iran is quite serious about persuading the international community that it does not have and does not want a nuclear weapons program.
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