PRETORIA/TEHRAN, 23 July 2003 — Iran is considering whether to allow surprise inspections of its nuclear sites, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in Pretoria yesterday, while again rejecting a charge by US President George W. Bush that Tehran is harboring terrorists. “The leaders of Iran will decide on signing” a protocol on inspections after hearing from legal experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency it has invited to visit Tehran, Kharrazi told a press conference.
His comments appear to represent a softening of Tehran’s position after a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that “for the moment, the question of signing the additional protocol is not on the agenda”.
European foreign ministers threatened Monday to review relations with Tehran failing its “urgent and unconditional acceptance” of the protocol, amid fears that a new Iranian medium-range missile could be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
“We have been cooperating with the IAEA so there should not be concern from the European foreign ministers,” said Kharrazi, who is in South Africa for a meeting of a bilateral commission. He said Iran has asked the IAEA to send a team of legal experts, expected in Tehran in the next few days, to brief the authorities on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty protocol.
“They will prepare a document for our leaders to study and decide whether Iran will sign this protocol or not,” Kharrazi said. “Let us see what happens then. The leaders of Iran will decide on signing this document.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom warned the European ministers on Monday that its archfoe Iran was “threatening the stability not only of the region but of the entire world” with its nuclear program and the development of the new ballistic missile.
At his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Bush issued new warnings to both Iran and Syria on Monday, accusing the two Middle Eastern countries of “unacceptable” conduct in supporting and harboring terrorism. “Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorism. This behavior is completely unacceptable,” he said.
Kharrazi countercharged that the United States was harboring Iranian rebels operating from neighboring Iraq, which has been under US occupation since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April. “These are Iranian rebels who lived there under Saddam Hussein and are still very active there,” he said. “They are considered terrorists even in the US definition. However, the US has signed a truce with this organization. “So we reject the allegation by President Bush,” Kharrazi said.
Kharrazi also declared that anyone found responsible for the death of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran “will be punished”. Zahra, 54, was arrested on June 23 outside Tehran’s Evin prison where she was taking photographs of protesters demanding the release of relatives locked up during last month’s protests.
She was admitted three days later to Baghiatollah Azam hospital, which is run by the hard-line Revolutionary Guards, where she died. Iranian authorities initially said Zahra fell ill while she was being questioned, but later revealed that she died of a brain hemorrhage after being beaten during the interrogation. “If someone is responsible for causing Mrs. Kazemi’s death this will be announced and he or she will be punished — that it for sure,” Kharrazi said.
