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DE RUEHUNV #0048/01 0420819
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O 110819Z FEB 10
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0567
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C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000048 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOE FOR NA-20, NA-24, NA-25, NE-1, NE-6 
NRC FOR OIP DOANE, HENDERSON, SCHWARTZMAN 
NSC STAFF FOR SCHEINMAN, CONNERY 
STATE FOR S/SANAC, ISN NEPHEW, ADAMS, IO CONNORS, DETEMPLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2023 
TAGS: AORC KNNP IAEA IR ENGR
SUBJECT: IAEA/IRAN: IAEA SAFETY PEER REVIEW MISSION TO 
IRAN'S NULCEAR REGULATORY AUTHORITY 
 
REF: A. (A) UNVIE 020 
     ¶B. (B) 09 UNVIE 477 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR GLYN T. DAVIES, REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The IAEA continues its nuclear 
safety-related activities with Iran in anticipation of the 
start-up of the Bushehr nuclear power reactor.  The Iranian 
Nuclear Regulatory Authority (INRA) requested a safety peer 
review mission from the IAEA in mid 2008 (ref A).  INRA 
prepared a self-assessment in advance of the mission, per 
IAEA guidance, and the IAEA performed a preparatory mission 
in Tehran in July 2009.  The IAEA mission itself is scheduled 
to take place February 20 ) March 2, 2010.  END SUMMARY. 
 
PREPARATORY WORK FOR THE IAEA MISSION 
------------------------------------- 
¶2. (C) Msnoff met recently with David Graves, an AmCit 
working in the Regulatory Activities Section of the IAEA's 
Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, who is in charge 
of the Iranian Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) 
mission.  Graves reports that INRA prepared its 
self-assessment preceding the mission in accordance with IAEA 
guidance.  Iran submitted the self-assessment to the IAEA for 
review in April 2009.  He stated that the document was weak 
technically (i.e., brief, not fulsome and not technically 
detailed) but said such low quality is very common for a 
developing Member State that is new to nuclear power and the 
IRRS process.  He said this self-assessment did not stand out 
as any worse than some of the others he had reviewed, and the 
IAEA met with INRA officials in Vienna in April 2009 to 
discuss improvements to the assessment. 
 
¶3. (C) Graves led a preparatory mission to Tehran in July 
¶2009.  He was accompanied by the IRRS team leader, Ms. Olina 
Mykolaichuk, who is head of the Ukrainian regulatory body, 
and Mr. Jean-Paul Samain, from the Belgian regulatory body. 
The purpose of the trip was to review the revised safety 
assessment and discuss preparations for the upcoming IRRS 
mission.  Typically these preparatory meetings are only two 
days, but this mission extended to four.  Graves stated that 
this extra time was needed because there had been a change in 
the head of the safety department in INRA.  The new head, Mr. 
Kamarn Sepanloo, was not familiar with the process and much 
of the information that was covered in the April meeting had 
to be reviewed. 
 
IRRS TEAM 
--------- 
¶4. (C) The IRRS mission will be conducted February 20 to 
March 2, 2010.  Graves will be the only IAEA member of the 
peer review team.  There will be 8 other team members, coming 
from the regulatory bodies in Ukraine, Belgium, Czech 
Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland. 
 
¶5. (C) Graves stated that INRA was pushing for there to be a 
Russian on the team.  However, Graves felt because the 
Russians were so heavily involved in the building and 
prospective operation of the Bushehr facilities, that they 
would be biased.  Graves argued that this should be a truly 
independent peer review. 
 
¶6. (C) IAEA,s Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) has been pushing 
the Regulatory Affairs Section to incorporate a 
representative from OLA on IRRS missions.  Until recently, 
the eighth member of the Iran IRRS team was supposed to come 
from OLA.  This would have been the first mission in which 
OLA participated.  However, recently the OLA officer backed 
out.  Graves did not know why OLA backed out or why the 
office did not find a replacement.  Graves is now looking 
instead for a replacement from Slovakia.  (COMMENT: UNVIE 
will seek further insight from OLA as to their posture toward 
the IRRS.  END COMMENT.) 
 
MAKING THE REPORT PUBLIC 
------------------------ 
¶7. (C) IAEA encourages all Member States that receive an IRRS 
mission to allow the IAEA to make the report of the mission 
available to other Member States.  This is one of the 
advantages to having the missions -- so that other countries 
can learn best practices.  Graves stated he is encouraging 
Iran to allow for release of its report.  Iranian officials, 
however, made no commitment and stated that they did not plan 
to make any decision in this regard until after the report 
was finalized. 
 
 
¶8. (C) COMMENT:  Iran will certainly gauge whether the final 
IRRS report is positive for Iran before considering whether 
to release it publicly. It is likely that a Slovakian 
representative will participate in the Iranian IRRS.  Both 
Graves and IAEA TC Program manager Fathi Kangi have indicated 
that the recent European Commission interpretation of the 
EU-imposed sanctions in light of Iran's violation of its IAEA 
and UNSC obligations (ref A) did not prohibit participation 
in an IRRS mission.  END COMMENT. 
DAVIES