Solana Warns Tehran over Nuclear Inspections

31/08/2003| IslamWeb

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, on a visit to Tehran, has urged Iran to sign up for tougher inspections of its nuclear programme. EU officials said Iran must sign the so-called Additional Protocol and allow short-notice inspections, if talks on a possible trade pact are to progress. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, says there are still questions about weapons-grade uranium found at a site in Iran. At a joint news conference, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi repeated Iran's stance that contaminated imported equipment was to blame for the enriched particles. Iran, which has always insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian energy purposes, says it is ready to start talks with the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on allowing inspectors more access. But Solana warned: "If you don't sign the Additional Protocol, it will be bad for you and, second, bad for us." Asked what Iran would get in return for signing, Solana said: "The only thing you have to expect is we continue working as friends." **PHOTO CAPTION*** European Union foreign policy chief Javeir Solana, left, listens to Kamal Kharrazi, Iranian foreign minister during a news conference in Tehran, Iran Saturday Aug. 30, 2003. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)