Iranian MPs vote to suspend nuclear inspections News
Iranian MPs vote to suspend nuclear inspections

[JURIST] Over seventy percent of Iranian MPs Wednesday supported a draft bill to suspend International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] inspections of the country's nuclear facilities until the UN watchdog acknowledges Iran's right to pursue nuclear technology. The move is in response to a recent IAEA resolution [PDF; JURIST report] declaring Iran in "non-compliance" with safeguards required by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [text]. Currently, the IAEA inspects Iran's nuclear facilities under an Additional Protocol [IAEA report] to Iran's NPT safeguards agreement intended to improve international confidence in the country. According to parliamentary Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, the voluntary nature of the agreement allows Iran to ignore its terms when necessary. Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) [official website] Secretary Ali Larijani said Tuesday the latest IAEA action lacked a legal foundation, called for a member-state review of the resolution, and stated that Iran's response would be based on the agency's statues and the NPT. To become law and suspend IAEA inspections, the draft bill must now be approved by the parliamentary energy, security and foreign policy commissions and the Guardian Council. IRNA and Radio Free Europe have more.