PHOTO: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano


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In an important benchmark for implementation of the July 14 nuclear deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency has officially closed its enquiry into Iran’s past activity.

The Board of Governors unanimously approved an IAEA report that said, while Iran may have taken preparatory steps up to 2009 for a militarized nuclear program, it had not carried out any research and development after that date.

The finding paves the way for the IAEA to verify Iran’s compliance with the terms of the July deal with the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China). Measures to be tested include the reduction of uranium centrifuges, the transfer of almost all of Iran’s enriched uranium out of the country, and the redesign of the Arak heavy-water reactor to cut plutonium by-product.

The Rouhani Government had hoped for IAEA verification by December 15, so that the US and the European Union could begin lifting sanctions on Iran’s crippled economy. However, the process has been delayed by objections from Iranian hardliners to some of the steps.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry later said that it expects verification by “early January”. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated that assessment on Tuesday, saying the implementation phase could begin within three weeks.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hailed Tuesday’s vote by the Board of Governors:

Based on this resolution, one can clearly say that the fabricated matters of the so-called Iranian military nuclear program….have become history….The lack of deviation of nuclear material to non-peaceful purposes has been confirmed…and the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program has been proven once again.


Politician Warns: Rafsanjani Could Face House Arrest

A conservative politician has warned that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani is facing house arrest because of his comments suggesting changes to the ruling system of the Islamic Republic, including the Supreme Leader’s role.

Mohammad Kazem Anbarloui, a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), attacked Rafsanjani’s proposal for more supervision by the Assembly of Experts, the body which chooses and can nominally replace the Supreme Leader. Anbarloui compared Rafsanjani to Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, who fell out of favor with Ayatollah Khomeini and was put under house arrest in 1988 until his death in 2009.

Anbarloui said, “This ambiguity and opacity undermines [Rafsanjani’s] service to the revolution. Those concerned about the revolution wonder whether he would meet the same fate as Montazeri.”

Rafsanjani also used an interview to repeat his suggestion that, after Ayatollah Khamenei’s death, the Supreme Leader could be replaced by a ruling council.

See Iran Daily, Dec 15: Rafsanjani Makes a Political Challenge


Rafsanjani Criticizes Indictment of Leading Journalist

Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has criticized the indictment of Mahmoud Doaei, the managing editor of the daily newspaper Ettelaat.

Doaei was charged last week and summoned for a second round of questioning on Sunday after Ettelaat published an interview with former President Mohammad Khatami by the Lebanese newspaper as-Safir. The case is likely to be heard in a special court for clerics.

The Iranian judiciary has banned any quotation or images of Khatami in the media.

Scores of journalists are imprisoned by the Iranian regime — including several detained by the Revolutionary Guards this autumn — but Doaei’s case has received particular attention because he was a confidant of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.

Rafsanjani said on Tuesday:

Conflict with a person who has lived his entire life, both before and after the Revolution, in the service of our system is a sign of anger that has no rational, legal, or forward-thinking support. We are worried; the consequences of this type of behavior have no benefit whatsoever for the political system.

Speaking about the interrogation of Doaei, judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseini Ejei emphasized that the ban on media coverage of “seditionists”, originating with orders from the Supreme National Security Council, remains in place.