Iran denies concessions on snap inspection of nuclear establishments

TEHRAN (Xinhua) - A senior Iranian nuclear official dismissed on Saturday the recent reports that Iran has agreed to allow snap inspection of the country's nuclear facilities, Press TV reported.

"The IAEA's inspections of Iran's peaceful nuclear program will be carried out on a monthly basis, just like before," Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying.

"The extent and type of inspections of Iran's nuclear activities, during the seven-month period of nuclear talks extension, will continue on its regular basis," Kamalvandi said reacting to recent western media reports that Iran has made "significant concessions" in recent nuclear talks "including promises by the Islamic republic to allow snap inspections of its facilities and to neutralize much of its remaining uranium stockpile."

On Thursday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said that the ground was prepared for a final deal with world powers over Tehran's nuclear issue.

After seven days of intensive talks which failed to meet the initial Nov. 24 deadline for a comprehensive deal over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, foreign ministers from the Islamic republic and the P5+1 group (China, the United States, France, Britain, Russia plus Germany) agreed to extend the deadline for another seven months.

Under the agreement, an interim deal reached on Nov. 24, 2013 will also be extended to June 30, 2015, with a fresh round of talks resuming in December.