TEHRAN – Scott Lucas, a professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham, has dismissed as deceitful an AP report on August 19 which claimed the International Atomic Energy has agreed with Tehran that Iranian experts and equipment will be used to inspect Iran’s Parchin military site.

“There is a history of some delegations in Vienna passing forged documents to reporters and claiming they are real,” Lucas said in an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times.

The IAEA confirmed the story was untrue. The White House also called the report a phony document that has been forged by Israel to undermine the nuclear deal with Iran.

""I am disturbed by statements suggesting that the IAEA has given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work,"" IAEA chief Amano said.

Lucas said, “The process of publication by AP is far from transparent.”

The interview with Lucas was conducted before Senate Democrats blocked a resolution of disapproval against the nuclear deal with Iran by Republicans on September 10.

The report riled Republican lawmakers who have been severely critical of the nuclear deal with Iran.

“The claim of a devious secret Iran-IAEA deal is part of the politics in the U.S. to try and block implementation of the nuclear agreement,” Professor Lucas noted.

Following is the full text of the interview:

Q: AP recently published a document claiming that it is the secret agreement between Iran and IAEA. What is your view?

A: There is nothing unusual about the Iran-IAEA agreement. Protocols
between the IAEA and member nations over inspections are confidential and not released to the public.

This agreement is part of a process, in parallel to the talks with the 5+1 powers, between the IAEA and Iran from late 2013. The confidentiality was not an issue --- although we were told about the general guidelines by both sides --- until the July 14 agreement was reached.

The claim of a devious secret Iran-IAEA deal is part of the politics in the U.S. to try and block implementation of the nuclear agreement.

Q: Some experts like Tariq Rauf, head of SIPRI in Stockholm and former IAEA expert, consider the published document by AP fake. What is the main reason behind such reports by some media outlets?

A: The published document comes from an unnamed source, known only to the
AP reporter. It has some curious language, such as the reference to the “Islamic State of Iran”, rather than “Islamic Republic of Iran”.
There is a history of some delegations in Vienna passing forged documents to reporters and claiming they are real. This cannot be established as the case here, but the process of publication by AP is far from transparent.

Q: Considering the fact the agreements between IAEA and states are secret, why U.S. senators in Congress insist on seeing the agreement between Iran and the IAEA?

A: Simply because they want to find a reason to block implementation of the deal.

Q: What will be the consequences of possible rejection of the nuclear agreement by Congress for the U.S.?

A: The consequences not only for the U.S. but for Iran and the world will be severe. The U.S. will resort to strict economic sanctions, with uncertain effects. The Netanyahu government could threaten military action against Iran. Iranians will suffer even greater economic hardship than they have in recent years.

The Rouhani government’s policy of “engagement” over regional conflicts will be demolished, with questions about what then happens over crises such as the Islamic State and the situations in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.
Indeed, the government itself is likely to be crippled, with opponents inside Iran criticizing it as weak and misguided in its negotiations with the U.S.