TEHRAN – Iran’s nuclear chief has reacted to speculation that a parliamentary ratification that regulates Iran’s nuclear interactions with the West has been violated, saying relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are strictly based on the Safeguards agreement and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Speaking to reporters after a cabinet session, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), rejected an allegation by MP Ali Khezrian that the AEOI’s March agreement with the IAEA breached the Strategic Action Law. He also rejected the claim regarding the installation of more cameras in an Isfahan nuclear site. Earlier, Khezrian had criticized the agreement between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog earlier this year, describing it as running counter to the Strategic Action Law.Recently, Eslami met the members of the Article 90 Committee to brief them on the Iran-IAEA agreement. “After listening to the report of the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, it became clear to the members of the committee that the agreement [with the IAEA] is against the law of strategic action to lift sanctions and the Supreme Leader of the Revolution's emphasis on non-violation of this law,” Khezrian claimed. Khezrian’s allegations were also rebutted by other lawmakers.

MP Yaghoub Rezazadeh told state news agency IRNA that according to the report presented by Eslami the JCPOA activity of the Atomic Energy Organization is in all cases completely in line with the law of strategic action to cancel sanctions and protect the interests of the Islamic Republic. “The Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has conducted the necessary investigations on the functioning of the Atomic Energy Organization, and no specific case has been observed that indicates the organization's violation of the JCPOA and nuclear issues,” Yaghoubian stated.Also, Sara Fallahi, the head of the Parliament’s Nuclear Committee, called into question the account of Khezrian, saying that the agreement between Iran and the IAEA was in full compliance with Iran’s interests.Fallahi defended the AEOI, saying it only acts within the framework of policies set by the system.

“The Atomic Energy Organization has been operating according to the policies of the system and within the framework of the country's national plan,” she told IRNA.