IRAN: Iran says banning U.N. atomic inspectors legal.

Iranian foreign minister says his country's refusal to allow IAEA inspections not a problem. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday (January 27), Iran's decision to ban 38 U.N. atomic inspectors was within the country's legal right and should not create problems with the U.N. atomic watchdog. Mottaki was speaking at a press conference after a meeting with the Belarus foreign minister Sergei Martinov. The watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has asked Iran to reconsider its decision to bar the inspectors, who routinely visit the country to verify Tehran is not diverting materials into bomb production. "Iran's relation with the IAEA is set on the basis of the regulations and we commit ourselves to the regulations and we take decisions on our cooperations based upon our rights seen in those regulations," Mottaki said. The Islamic Republic said on Tuesday it was barring entry to inspectors, who were nationals of Western states which sponsored the U.N. sanctions or backed them. The IAEA has a pool of 200 inspectors for such assignments. Tehran has a right to reject any inspector but diplomats have said the IAEA did not want to see a precedent set for hampering inspections and thereby escalating Iran's confrontation with Western powers. The West accuses Tehran of seeking to make atomic bombs, a charge Iran denies, saying it wants to generate electricity. Iran insists it is still cooperating with the IAEA. U.N. sanctions were imposed on Iran in December, banning the transfer of sensitive materials and know-how to Iran's nuclear and missile programmes over its refusal to stop enriching uranium, a process that can yield fuel for power stations or material for bombs. Three IAEA inspectors arrived in Tehran Friday night to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan, state television reported on Saturday.

ITN Source | January 27, 2007

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