Iran to implement IAEA Additional Protocol voluntarily till US Congress lifts sanctions

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 27 By Fatih Karimov – Trend: Iran will implement the Additional Protocol of the IAEA voluntarily till US Congress lifts sanctions, said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. The Additional Protocol allows unannounced inspections outside of declared nuclear sites and it is seen as a vital tool at the IAEA's disposal to make sure that a country does not have any hidden nuclear work. Once the Congress lifts the sanctions, the Iranian parliament can study and approve it, if it deems it necessary, Araqchi who was a senior negotiator during nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group, said. “In our point of view, any access which has been envisaged by the Additional Protocol is within accepted and conventional international standards and we see no problem to implement them,” the Iranian parliament’s website ICANA quoted Araqchi as saying July 27. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrooz Kamalvandi said June 16 that accepting the implementation of Additional Protocol is not taboo. Araqchi also said Iran and the IAEA have sketched a new roadmap on the issue of PMD (Possible Military Dimension). He added that the new roadmap is in line with previous agreements with some new appendixes. After several months of talks, on July 14, Iran and the P5+1 (US, Russia, China, France, UK, and Germany) announced a final accord, curbing Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting of most international sanctions. However, the PMD has become a persistent bone of contention in the talks between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog. Edited by CN Stay up to date with latest Iran news on our specialized Facebook page Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency