Iran will allow UN nuclear inspectors to visit military sites

The comments by the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, carried by state television, came after he and the foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, attended a reportedly stormy closed session of parliament.

"Iran has agreed to grant managed access to military sites,” state TV quoted Araghchi as saying on Sunday.

Lawmaker Ahmad Shoohani, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee who attended the closed-door session, said restricted inspections of military sites will be carried out under strict control and specific circumstances.

"Managed access will be in a shape where UN inspectors will have the possibility of taking environmental samples from the vicinity of military sites,” Shoohani said.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed on Wednesday not to allow international inspection of Iran’s military sites or access to Iranian scientists under any nuclear agreement. Iran’s military leaders have also angrily refused such demands. The state TV report did not elaborate on Araghchi’s comments apparently contradicting those two powerful forces in the Iranian government.

Iran and six world powers – the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – hope to work out terms of a final nuclear deal before a 30 June deadline. Inspection of military sites suspected to be taking part in the nuclear programme is a top priority of the US.

The west fears Iran’s programme could allow it to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its programme is for peaceful purposes.

The broadcast also quoted Araghchi as saying Iranian negotiators rejected demands that its scientists be interviewed.

"Americans are after interviewing our nuclear scientists. We didn’t accept it,” state TV quoted him as saying.

Iran’s nuclear scientists have been the targets of attacks before both inside the Islamic Republic and elsewhere. The country also views the interviews as tantamount to a criminal interrogation.