Iran agreed Monday to offer more information and expanded access to U.N. nuclear inspectors — including more openings at a planned reactor and uranium site — even as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Iranian envoys had backed away from a wider deal seeking to ease Western concerns that Tehran could one day develop atomic weapons.
But Iran’s foreign minister criticized Kerry’s remarks, saying the American’s “conflicting statements” damaged confidence in the process, adding that “considerable progress was made” in Geneva.
The flurry of announcements and comments showed both the complexities and urgency in trying to move ahead on an accord between Iran and world powers after overtime talks in Geneva failed to produce a deal that could curb Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for a rollback in some U.S.-led economic sanctions.
With negotiators set to resume next week, Iranian officials promoted the pact reached with the U.N. nuclear chief Yukiya Amano as a “roadmap” for greater cooperation and transparency, which could move the talks ahead. But the plans do not mention some of the sites most sought by U.N. teams to probe suspicions of nuclear-related work, notably the Parchin military facility outside Tehran.
“It’s an important step forward, but by no means the end of the process,” Amano said in Tehran. “There is still much work to be done.”
Western leaders, meanwhile, were keen to display a unified front after suggestions that France had broken ranks in Geneva and demanded more concessions from Iran on enrichment levels and an under-construction heavy water reactor that produced a greater amount of plutonium byproduct, which could be used in eventual weapons production. Kerry said it was Iran that put the brakes on reaching a first-phase agreement, but gave no details on the Iranian concerns and suggested it was only a matter of time before a formula is found.
“There was unity but Iran couldn’t take it,” Kerry said during a stop in Abu Dhabi. He added: “The French signed off on it, we signed off on it.”
Later Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized Kerry’s remarks that blamed Iran for lack of a deal when asked about them on an Iranian TV talk show.
“Conflicting statements harm the credibility of the one who keeps changing positions and damages confidence. The goal of dialogue is to reduce the lack of trust. Conflicting talk doesn’t give credit to the person saying it,” Zarif said.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that an overall deal is likely between Iran and world powers, which would undercut Israeli threats to launch military action against Iranian nuclear sites. Yet he hailed the delay as a chance to “achieve a much better deal.”
Iran has categorically denied it seeks nuclear arms and insists its only seeks reactors for energy and medical applications. Iranian officials portrayed the expanded U.N. access as further sign it seeks to work with the West.
Under the plans, announced at a joint news conference, Iran would allow inspectors a first-time visit of its key Gachin uranium mine on the Gulf coast and give broader access to the heavy water facility being built in the central city of Arak. Heavy water reactors use a different type of coolant to produce a greater amount of plutonium byproduct than conventional reactors. Inspectors from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, have already visited the reactor site but seek more extensive examinations.
Plutonium can be used in nuclear weapons production, but separating it from the reactor byproducts requires a special technology that Iran does not currently possess.
The new accord also calls on Iran to provide more details on its nuclear program including proposed new reactor sites and all planned research reactors.
IAEA teams have combed Iran for years and have around-the-clock monitoring systems at main sites such as the Russian-built reactor at Bushehr on the Gulf coast and the biggest enrichment facility at Natanz in central Iran.
Some areas remain off-limits despite demands from the IAEA. Chief among them is the Parchin military base outside Tehran, which has been visited by IAEA inspectors in the past. They have been blocked, however, from returning to investigate suspicions that explosive tests were carried out related to possible nuclear triggers. Iran denies the allegations, but has resisted opening the base.
It was unclear whether the openings made Monday would eventually extend to sites such as Parchin. Amano said it would be “raised in subsequent” meetings.
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