AEOI: Iran nuclear issue politically motivated

A senior Iranian nuclear official says the Western dispute with Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s peaceful nuclear activities is politically motivated.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the remarks in an interview on Tuesday, IRIB reported.

Kamalvandi added that the issue of alleged Potential Military Dimensions (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program is not a legal but a political matter.    

The Iranian official's remarks came after the head of the UN nuclear agency said in the Austrian city of Vienna on Monday that the issue of PMD can be clarified if the details of a mutual understanding reached in April between Tehran and six world powers are implemented.

Kamalvandi also described the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear program as “repetitive.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kamalvandi rejected repeated claims by the IAEA chief, Yukiya Amano that the UN nuclear agency cannot confirm that undeclared nuclear material in Iran is for peaceful purposes, saying the issue concerns those countries which implement the Additional Protocol to the IAEA’s Safeguards Agreement.

“We have always said that undeclared issues are related to the Additional Protocol and the countries which have signed it,” Kamalvandi said, adding that the issue does not concern Iran, as it is not a signatory to the Additional Protocol.

The Additional Protocol requires member states to provide a detailed declaration of their nuclear activities and grants the IAEA broader rights of access to their nuclear sites.

On Monday, Amano also verified the non-diversion of Iran’s declared nuclear activities from their peaceful nature.

He, however, said that the agency cannot provide credible assurance about, what he called the absence of any undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran.