Iran demands end to UN nuclear watchdog probe

Iran says there will be no final implementation of a nuclear deal with world powers unless a probe into allegations of past weapons research is closed.

The declaration, by a top security official, comes after the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said a report into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s activities would not be “black and white.”

Iran has always denied seeking to develop an atomic weapons capability, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful energy production and medical purposes only.

Referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the July 14 agreement’s official name, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, said anything short of the watchdog’s probe being closed was unacceptable to Iran.

“Without the closure of the file regarding past issues, there is no possibility of implementing the JCPOA,” the official IRNA news agency reports him as saying.

Shamkhani is secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the country’s highest security body, which was tasked with supervising the nuclear deal.

The committee reports to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on all policy decisions.

— AFP