Tehran, June 16: Iran today reiterated its refusal to sign an additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that would allow the UN's atomic energy watchdog to conduct inspections of suspect sites. Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the Islamic Republic would hold out on allowing additional inspections as long as other signatories to the NPT did not fulfill their treaty obligations related to the transfer of peaceful nuclear technology.
"First it is necessary to clarify the obligations to us that other Non-Proliferation Treaty signatories must respect, and to know how the international community can help us improve our nuclear science for peaceful purposes. Then we start talking," Asefi said.
"We are ready to take into account the worries of the agency (IAEA), and if it shows flexibility, we are also ready to do the same and find a solution," he added.


His comments came just hours before the International Atomic Energy Agency was to begin a meeting in Vienna to hear a report that Iran had failed to fully honour its nuclear safeguards agreement.
Bureau Report