Iran to decide on nuclear inspections after experts' visit

TEHRAN (AFP) Jul 30, 2003
Iran will decide whether or not to accept snap inspections of its nuclear sites after an upcoming visit by legal experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said.

Quoted by the state news agency IRNA, Kharazi said late Tuesday that Iran is expecting the arrival of the experts "in the next few days".

"After these people come to Iran and we listen to their reasons and justifications, then will decide whether to sign the IAEA's additional protocol," he was quoted by state news agency IRNA.

The international community, suspicious that Tehran has a secret weapons programme, is pressing it to sign an additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allowing the IAEA to carry out thorough inspections of the country's installations without prior declaration.

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