Iran says it will only allow nuclear inspections agreed to in 2015 deal: 'Not one word more'
An Iranian official announced Wednesday that his country will not allow any nuclear inspections beyond what was agreed upon in its 2015 arrangement with the United States.
"We are committed to inspections in the framework of the nuclear deal that are linked to nuclear restrictions which we have accepted in the past... Not one word more, not one word less," said Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, according to a video carried by state media.
Eslami’s statement appears to contradict reporting earlier this week that Iran has dropped some of its main demands. Reports suggested that Tehran was relaxing its insistence that international inspectors close some probes of its atomic program, bringing the possibility of an agreement closer.
Washington aims to respond soon to a draft agreement proposed by the European Union that would bring back the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that former President Donald Trump scrapped and current President Biden has sought to revive.
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Former President Hassan Rouhani, second right, listens to head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi while visiting an exhibition of Iran's new nuclear achievements in Tehran (Iranian Presidency Office/AP)
Iran has insisted that the nuclear pact can only be salvaged if the International Atomic Energy Agency drops its claims about Tehran's nuclear work. Washington and other Western powers view Tehran's demand as outside the scope of reviving the deal.
Israel has vehemently opposed the potential nuclear deal. The Jewish state said Monday that it "would make no further concessions to Iran" and that it was time to "walk away" from a deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid speaks at a security briefing about Iran for the foreign press at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on August 24, 2022. (Photo by DEBBIE HILL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DEBBIE HILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.