Iran says 'will not accept' leaks of secret data by IAEA

Iran has called on the UN nuclear monitoring body to guarantee the confidentiality of information it will collect for verifying the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program.   

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday that the body should “exercise utmost vigilance to ensure full protection of all confidential information coming to its knowledge” during its inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities under Tehran’s nuclear agreement with the six world powers.

“We will not accept any kind of leakage of classified information by anyone,” Reza Najafi said.

He reiterated Iran’s commitment to the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), inked between Iran and the six powers – the US, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany – in July.

Najafi also said Iran hopes for the “meaningful realization of fundamental shift” in the UN Security Council’s approach toward its nuclear dossier, following Resolution 2231 adopted in confirmation of JCPOA.

Roadmap technically sound: Amano

Also on Tuesday, the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement to the Board of Governors that Iran's recent agreement with the nuclear monitoring agency is "technically sound and consistent with established IAEA safeguards practices.”

He emphasized that the agreement did not “compromise” the agency’s standards “in any way.”

In line with a roadmap signed between Iran and the IAEA in mid-July, Tehran provided the agency with explanations in writing and related documents on August 15 in order to clarify past and present outstanding issues pertaining to its nuclear program, Amano said.

As agreed in the roadmap, all activities are set to be completed by October 15, the IAEA chief said. He added that he would present his final assessment of Iran's nuclear activities to the Board of Governors by December 15.

“As with all my reports, this assessment will be factual and impartial,” Amano said.

Iran’s Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, and the IAEA chief signed a roadmap for “the clarification of past and present issues” regarding Iran’s nuclear program in the Austrian capital, Vienna on July 14.

The roadmap was aimed at accelerating and strengthening cooperation and dialogue between Iran and the IAEA with a view to resolving all outstanding issues by the end of 2015.

Amano also expressed the IAEA’s readiness to “undertake the necessary work” regarding the JCPOA, noting that Iran and the P5+1 group of powers would set up a joint panel to monitor the implementation of the JCPOA.

As requested by the UN Security Council, Amano added, Iran and the joint commission should “consult and exchange information, where appropriate, as specified in the JCPOA.”

“We are ready to do this if authorized by the Board [of Governors],” the IAEA head said.

He also noted that the IAEA will require an additional 9.2 million euros (10.6 million dollars) annually to conduct its inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities as required by the JCPOA.

“The combination of comprehensive safeguards agreement and additional protocol, together with the verification and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA, represents a very robust verification mechanism in Iran,” Amano said.

He expressed hope that the sides would make full use of the current “historic opportunity” to resolve the Iran nuclear issue.

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