Ali Asghar Soltanieh - Iran's ambassador, International Atomic Energy Agency HARDtalk

stock markets in Europe closed down and borrowing costs for Spain and

Italy rose sharply. Now it is time for HARDtalk. Iran's nuclear power

programme has been a source of international tension for the past

decade. It has been unable to shrug off the suspicion that its pursuit

of nuclear energy is also an effort to make nuclear weapons. Iran

insists it has no such ambitions but many of the world's major

powers remain unconvinced. The international community is seeking

assurances from Iran at a fresh round of talks in Moscow later this

month. We speak today to Dr Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador

to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. What guarantees can Iran give

that its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful? Thank you for

being with us on HARDtalk. pleasure. Are you serious about

persuading the international community that Iran does not have

an does not want a nuclear weapons programme? We are serious and

determined and we have done so during the last decade that this

issue has been politicised. An inspection, unprecedented in the

history of the R A A E A has been conducted in Iran. They have not

found to even one gram of the uranium suitable for military

purposes. This is a certificate of health. And has proved that our

purposes are not military. It has not proved that. They fear or a

hardening of Iran's stands. There were negotiations on Friday and the

chief negotiate heard described them as unsatisfactory. He does not

think you are being constructive at all. Let me explain to you in a

couple of minutes the background, so that you'll do as well have a

better understanding. We have to make a distinction between a normal,

routine inspection on nuclear activities and material in Iran.

The second point is the allegations by a few countries, mainly the US

and a couple of other European countries, for the last ten years,

trying to keep this Open. Then negotiation with the regulatory

body is on this specific issue of allegations. This is not a routine

inspection or does it have anything to do with the NPT regulations.

INAUDIBLE having legal and technical dimension. One continues

with these discussions. Talks have been going on for ten years. In the

international community there is a concern that Iran has made some

positive noises and is now seem to be hardening its stance. There are

fresh talks with the five members of the UN Security Council plus

Germany later this month. Already, there have been negative noises

coming out. Yarran mac has accused the UN foreign policy chief of the

dithering. Have you written off those talks as well? Please do not

make a mistake. Out talks are on the possible military dimension

started months ago and the agency has welcomed these. 100 members of

the agency, for the last ten years without interruption have supported

Iran. Please don't misinterpret public opinion. This is a very

clear, important message to the world. Regarding the five Plus One,

I have to remind people than some other countries have requested that

the nuclear issue also be on the agenda of the five plus one and

Iran talks. We are ready to talk about nuclear issues. There have

already been talks in April and May this year. They failed and now they

are going on until June. Beefier is amongst Security Council members

and Germany that Iran is not serious when it enters these talks.

You should Nantes underestimate the success of Istanbul to M' when all

parties agreed on some principles. That is the Nuclear

Nonproliferation Treaty. And also the step-by-step reciprocal

approach. All parties involved agreed on this step. If all parties

tried to comply with it's that commitment they will be committed

to the agreement in Istanbul to and it will be a success. And we will

get into detail of concerns and evidence and Moscow said it is

concerned about a possible nuclear weapons treaty and the concerns of

the Security Council. If everything has been successful, why are the

war drums beating? Somebody said that time is running amount and

that Iran is deploying a strategy of deception and concealment.

Binyamin Netanyahu has said he will never allow Israelis to live in the

shadow of annihilation. Do you fear the day that a possible attack

could be learning? I have said before that they should not even

think about attacking Iran. They have deception in their nuclear

policy and when the former prime minister a head on it suggested

that, they denied it. Therefore, the policy of. The US ambassador to

Israel said the option to strike was fully available. Them Aquiles a

resolution passed in 1919 in the agency which said that any threat

of attack during construction is a violation of the UN Charter. The UN

Security Council should immediately act in that case. If the US is

threatening attacking Iran, violating the UN statute. The UN

has to have a strong reaction and the US will be accountable for this

violation of international law and the UN Charter. OK, but the war

talk is not just coming from the US and Israel. It is coming from Iran

as well. In May a major of the Iranian forces said that at Iran

remains committed to the full annihilation of the Zionist regime

of Israel. And you, yourself, said that if Iran wants to build nuclear

weapons, no-one will be able to prevent it. Let me clarify this

issue at once and forever. As we have said for the last 30 years, we

are against a weapons of mass destruction and we proved that in

spite of 100,000 Iranians being affected and victims of chemical

weapons, we did not retaliate. This is proof that we are really against.

Our Supreme Leader was also given a fatwa. Therefore we are against

nuclear weapons and we are working hard with other countries and

member states of the Aiton seemed to mobilise against nuclear weapons.

You haven't said anything about the attack of Israel. Listen to me. For

the last 20 years we have not sent table at anywhere in the world. We

are a very peaceful nation. The issue is mentality. We are against

mentality which is against humanity. We were against the South African

regime and now that regime is done. We are against the Zionist

mentality. This has disappear because this is not tolerated by

not only around. All over the world at against the Zionist mentality.

Let's move on. Add the issue is where that Iran has, or has ever

pursued, a nuclear weapons programme. Increasingly severe

sanctions have been imposed on Iran as countries remain am convinced by

Iran's arguments. David Cameron's Under-Secretary for intelligence

said a few days ago that if there was no breakthrough in the Moscow

talks this month's there is no question that we will continue to

ratchet up the pressure. Bets are blind what the pressure will be:

The US will cut of orang mac's oil revenues. There will be an oil

embargo as of the 1st July. Let me be clear and go want to put on

record and the whole world should listen to any. The decision-makers

in the US and some European countries and not telling the truth.

None of the sanctions have had any effect on nuclear activities

because all the centrifuges are manufactured by our own

manufacturers. We are not importing, therefore the sanctions have not

had any effect. On the contrary, it has created determinations in the

Iranian people and the government. The sanctions are not targeting the

centrifuge machines, they are targeting the people of Iran. Air

full colour they are not telling the truth. Be sanctions are biting.

The incoming dinner at John Hopkins School of Advanced International

Studies said there is no doubt that economic hardship is more

pronounced and is hitting the Iranian middle class. Someone from

the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said that the

full impact has become clear this summer. Surely, Iran now really has

to negotiate in Moscow. Please let me explain and ask a specific

question. What is the intention of those imposing sanctions? Bar they

intending to slow down our nuclear activities or forced us to suspend

them? If this is the aim that they are always talking about, they are

not telling the truth to the world. Because this has had no affect.

This is increasing our determination and now we have

enrichment technology. If they are putting in the sanctions to disturb

that Iran and cause problems for the people, they should know they

are creating among us Iranian people in the said the Western

countries. Let's change the course of action from confrontation to a

peaceful negotiated solution. That I A E A wants access to the

military site because they have been alleged experiments that have

no other purpose, it believes and sides many different documents, and

developing nuclear weapons. You have dismissed this as the

ridiculous and childish story. Then, why don't you open up the doors?

You are very lucky talking to the source and the mouth of the course

you are listing. I have been involved for the last ten years and

accompanied the inspectors in 2005, twice. Our officials were so kind

and committed agencies and inspectors to go wherever they

wanted and they found nothing. sorry but that investigation at the

time in 2005 did not include a particular building that the IAEA

wants access to. Then that was their mistake. Let them now, then.

OK. Are you saying you will? just a moment. The matter is very

simple. In 30 seconds, I will answer your question. We have said

there is a specific investigation, nothing to do with the normal

routine investigation under the treaty. We have to negotiate and

have a framework for it. We are discussing it. When the framework

is agreed upon, the inspectors and our experts would start their work.

And therefore we are prepared to remove any ambiguities about the

report of November, including any other issues they have raised. But

they must put once on the table forever and put an end to this

process and they have to deliver the documents about these

allegations. These are the expectations from our side. I have

to say that we have had good progress. We are on the right track.

Let us not politicise this issue. Sooner or later, you will see these

questions will be answered. With all due respect, you have been on

HARDtalk many times and every time you say to have patience and you

will see. So far, we have not seen anything. You have not left

inspectors in and you say the documents are forgeries. That is

something the IAEA denies. Moving on then to the meetings with the

members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, led by the EU. They

have three requests to Iran. One - they want Iran to stop producing

20% enriched uranium because it is close to the weapons. They want to

stop the stockpiling and stop the underground in Richmond site near

the holy city. They have offered Iran something in exchange for that

and you have said no. Why? -- the end Richmond site. First of all, we

have said we are committed and expect other parties to be

committed to what was agreed upon in Istanbul. It means a step-by-

step reciprocal action based on NPT. If there is any expectation for us

to take steps beyond the NPT, then we have to know what is the

reciprocal action. Which step they will take which will be the

equivalent to that step. But they have said... They have said that

Iran will receive safety advice, a reactor, they can buy spare parts

for civilian airlines. I want you to judge, I want you and your

distinguished the viewers to judge, is the spare part of the passenger

airplane equivalent to suspension of enrichment after ten years of

hardships, sanctions, the threat of attacks, cyber attacks? This is not

the equivalent. We do not need spare parts to the extent that we

will suspend such activities, which is the national pride and the

country has paid a lot for it. But they also said they have to give

fuel. They should have given fuel when I was negotiating with them.

Now, we are making our own fuel reactors. Therefore, I am

concluding, ten seconds, the best thing is to recognise, as is their

right, the right of our enrichment for peaceful purposes. That will

pave the way for mutual understanding and better

understanding and I am optimistic that then many of these issues will

be resolved and we can discuss in Moscow. One policy chief says that

sanctions are not an end in themselves. She says the EU wants a

solution that enabled everybody to have confidence in the civilian

nature of Iran's nuclear programme, which used says it has. But the

international community has serious concerns. Until 2012, D I H E A's

head of safeguarding says Iran would likely have a stockpile of

more than 250 kilograms of uranium were five to 20% by the end of the

year and Iran could turn that stocking too highly enriched con --

components of a nuclear weapon in a couple of months. I can keep giving

you quotes like that. But there are real concerns on behalf of the

international community that Iran is not telling the truth and that

it does not have only the aim for a civilian nuclear programme. You

have not been able to convince them otherwise. Please, I respect you

again, do not consider a couple of countries as the international

community. Secondly, every gram of Iranian and all of the machines are

under the 24 hours cameras of the IAEA. The third point, the 20% in

Richmond is for the reactors which use up to 20% fuel. I was the

research centre director about 30 years back and we were bedding and

asking for this fuel and nobody gave us the fuel. America received

$2 million and neither gave us the money or the fuel. Finally, we got

the fuel from Argentina. This time, the US, Russia and others did not

give us fuel. Therefore, that material and fuel, produced, is

nothing to worry about. There are countries that are very worried

that the nuclear programme is going underground. But I would like to,

coming to the end, go back to something you said about the IAEA

and questions about this not becoming politicised. What evidence

do you have of the politicisation of the IAEA? You have made that

accusation repeatedly in recent weeks. That is a good point. Why we

were talking about the modality and Framework for how to deal with this

question, the issue was highlighted in a way that something was going

on without giving any evidence. They said they were involved in

nuclear weapons but we have not seen any documents delivered.

they delivered 1,000 pages of documents. You have accused the

IAEA of being manipulated by Western powers. Yes! Being behind

scientists in Iran that have been associated with the nuclear

programme. That is a severe allegation for a United Nations

body. No, I said it in my last week as governor. We blamed the number

of states, particularly the board of governors and those few

countries which are manipulating the agency. Yes. When the

inspectors talk to our friends and their names appear in the sanctions

are the EU and the sign to us -- ciders treated as terrorists, this

is humiliation to them. -- scientists. There has to be mutual

trust and they have to stop this process. Those countries creating

this problem for the secretariat and for Iran are responsible and