Iran rules out any negotiations on defense program

A senior Iranian official has dismissed speculations that Iran would put its missile program up for negotiations in a bid to facilitate a nuclear agreement with global powers.

“We will by no means allow any supervision or access with regard to our country's missiles, ballistic or otherwise, and we won't even negotiate on them,” Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said Saturday.

The Iranian official, who was speaking to IRIB News, reiterated that Tehran will “under no circumstances,” accept any commitment regarding the supervision or surveillance of its defense systems as part a potential deal with international powers on the country’s nuclear program.

Iran and P5+1 group of countries - Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany - reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program on April 2 in Switzerland. The two sides are expected to start drafting a final inclusive deal which they seek to sign by the end of June.

There have been reports in the Western media claiming that the final deal could see Iran allow international inspectors access to its military sites. Tehran has categorically denied this, describing the reports as mere rumors and wrong interpretations of the understanding reached in Switzerland.

On Wednesday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan categorically rejected the notion, saying, “No such agreement has been reached and basically, visiting military centers are among the red lines and no visit to these centers will be allowed.”

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