Iran’s powerful Guard rejects inspection of military sites
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, who is also Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, speaks with media, as head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi listens, upon their arrival at the Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran, from Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, April 3, 2015. AP FILE PHOTO
TEHRAN, Iran — International nuclear inspectors will be barred from all Iranian military sites under any deal with world powers, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guard said Sunday, setting up a possible standoff as negotiators try to reach a final deal.
Gen. Hossein Salami, the Guard’s deputy leader, told Iranian state television that allowing foreign inspection of military sites is tantamount to “selling out,” raising the stakes as talks between Iran and the six-nation group are to resume April 22 in Vienna.
“We will respond with hot lead (bullets) to those who speak of it,” Salami said. “Iran will not become a paradise for spies. We will not roll out the red carpet for the enemy.”
