TEHRAN, Aug 30: EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Saturday warned it would be “bad news” for Iran if it does not accept snap International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of its nuclear sites.

He also cautioned Tehran against “bargaining” on the sensitive issue.

“If you don’t sign the protocol it will be a bad news for you,” Mr Solana said during a joint news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.

“There will be no reward for doing that — it is not a bargaining thing.”

The European Union has joined others in the international community in pressing Iran to sign an additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that would allow IAEA inspectors to descend on its nuclear sites without warning to ensure that Tehran is not secretly developing atomic weapons.

The European Union last month warned that, without credible guarantees over the protocol, it would review its economic ties with the country after an IAEA report on Iran is presented in Vienna on Sept 8.

“But we want it to be signed: the sooner, the better,” said Solana. “It brings trust and confidence to the officials in Vienna and the members of the international community,” he added.

Mr Kharazi insisted said Iran’s goodwill was evident from its willingness to allow IAEA inspectors to visit and recently take samples from nuclear facilities, as well as its participation in talks over signing the protocol.

“We expect the European Union not to buckle under pressure and not let the (IAEA) governors politicize the affair,” he said, alluding to US attempts to persuade the IAEA to refer the matter to the UN Security Council, which would carry the threat of sanctions.

Iran has come under increasing pressure, notably from the United States, to sign the additional protocol.

Concern over the issue resurfaced this week when a UN report said that inspectors had found two different types of highly-enriched nuclear particles at facilities in Iran not needed in civilian atomic programmes.—AFP