TEHRAN, Oct 3: Iran has imposed four conditions for signing on to snap UN inspections of its atomic energy programme, among them the exclusion of non-nuclear military sites and sacred places, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Friday.

“The conditions we would impose for signing the protocol are the same as those imposed by the United States,” Rafsanjani said, in reference to pressure for Iran to sign an additional protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows for tougher inspections.

This would signify “that our national security not be endangered, that our (Islamic) values and our sacred sites not be affected, that (military) secrets unconnected with the nuclear programme not be revealed and that others fulfil their duty” to assist Iran with its civilian nuclear programme.

This marks the first time an Iranian official posed conditions for signing on to the additional protocol, which would grant the IEA stricter control over the nuclear programme and permission to inspect sites unannounced, with or without Tehran’s approval.

Some 80 countries have already signed the protocol.—AFP