TEHRAN - International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei may visit Iran next week. ElBaradei is expected to meet with senior officials for discussions related to outstanding safeguard verification issues and other confidence-building measures requested by the IAEA Board of Governors.

The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) spoke to some MPs and political analysts on Saturday and asked them to comment on the issue.

Hossein Shariatmadari, the managing director of the Tehran daily Kayhan, described ElBaradei’s upcoming visit to Iran as a trip related to the March 29 UN Security Council statement on the need to compile a report on Iran’s recent nuclear activities.

The Security Council expects Iran to implement its recent statement, but Iranian officials have clearly stated that they will not implement any of the requests because Iran views it as a political, unlawful, and non-binding statement, he explained.

“ElBaradei has heard our statements before and has seen our truthfulness in practice.

“The fact that the IAEA director on the one hand says that no proof of diversion has been found in Iran’s nuclear activities and on the other hand says that the IAEA cannot be confident, shows that they are looking for something that they themselves believe does not exist,” he observed.

In principal, when the IAEA does not find any sign of diversion in its inspections of a country’s nuclear activities, it must not have doubts about the nuclear dossier of that country anymore, but this is not happening for Iran, he stated.

In light of the way that Iran’s nuclear dossier is being treated by the IAEA and the Security Council, “remaining in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entails nothing but harm” for the country, Shariatmadari opined.

MP Ali Ahmadi of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said that ElBaradei can open a new chapter in the negotiations meant to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear dossier diplomatically.

“ElBaradei’s next report on Iran’s nuclear dossier can play an influential role at the Security Council because if his report is based on the IAEA Statute and the NPT, the IAEA will regain its place as the defender of the rights of its member states,” he said.

Some of the members of the UN Security Council still believe that the dispute over Iran’s nuclear dossier can be resolved at the IAEA and that the IAEA can regain its rightful legal and technical position by resolving the matter, he added.

MP Ali Zadsar said that ElBaradei’s visit to Iran is a sign that the world is reaching the conclusion that it should accept a nuclear Iran.

Parliamentarian Morteza Tamaddon stated that ElBaradei will become more familiarized with Iran’s nuclear activities during the visit and will then be able to make more realistic decisions.

Iran can explain its policy of transparency and truthfulness in its nuclear activities to the IAEA director in person, although he is well aware of it through his previous visits and contacts, he noted.

ElBaradei’s trip to Iran will strengthen the process through which the international community, the Security Council, and other organizations that deal with the nuclear issue are obviously starting to recognize Iran’s right to nuclear energy, Tamaddon pointed out.

He went on to say that the 30-day deadline for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment will have no influence on Iran’s nuclear activities.

“This is a deadline for them to use properly,” he added.

International affairs analyst Mahmud Dehqan said that ElBaradei does not want Iran’s nuclear dossier to cause tension and confrontation so that he and the IAEA can save face.

“The significance of ElBaradei’s trip to Tehran is that it can take Iran’s dossier to the Security Council or return it to the IAEA Board of Governors,” he added.

Iranian officials should show the IAEA chief the level of Iran’s cooperation to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities and convince him that Iran has the inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the political analyst said.

Former Majlis deputy Jaafar Golbaz said that ElBaradei’s trip to Tehran shows the sensitivity and special place of Iran’s nuclear dossier at the IAEA.

“Maybe ElBaradei wants to prepare his report on Iran based on the existing realities in Iran, so he is traveling to Iran for the last face-to-face talks with Iranian officials before compiling his report.

“Or maybe he wants to be informed of the Iranian side’s possible solutions to the issue,” he opined.

ElBaradei is making a last-ditch effort to prevent the IAEA’s endeavors to resolve Iran’s nuclear standoff from failing, Golbaz added.

MP Hassan Kamran voiced optimism that ElBaradei would accept the requests of the Iranian nation and reconsider his past behavior in order to secure his place in history.