Iranian leader bashes nuclear inspections

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, on Wednesday poured cold water on the assertion that international inspectors will be allowed to monitor its nuclear program as part of international negotiations.

{mosads}“We will never yield to pressure. … We will not accept unreasonable demands. … Iran will not give access to its [nuclear] scientists,” Khamenei said during remarks on state television, according to Reuters.

“We will not allow the privacy of our nuclear scientists or any other important issue to be violated.”

He compared interviews by international monitors to “interrogations” in comments that shed doubt on his commitment to the burgeoning deal.

“I will not let foreigners talk to our scientists and to interrogate our dear children … who brought us this extensive [nuclear] knowledge,” he said.

As supreme leader, Khamenei is the most powerful figure in Iran and would likely have to bless any deal. While international negotiators agreed to a framework for a deal in April, he hasn’t endorsed the deal and has released a number of statements criticizing aspects of the framework.

Negotiators have until June to iron out specific language, but the framework announced in April by the White House includes “robust inspections throughout [Iran’s] nuclear supply chain.”