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00:00UN nuclear inspectors reportedly have arrived on site in Iran.
00:05Let's go straight to our correspondent, Saeed Azimi, who is awaiting us in Tehran to get more on this one.
00:10Saeed, a very good evening to you and welcome, as always, to the programme.
00:14The situation, of course, was very tense ahead of this because of the risk of what Iran could incur
00:21for perhaps being perceived as not allowing these inspectors on site.
00:25But we are told they are there.
00:27What more can you tell us? Are they there?
00:30Yes, Mark, they are there.
00:32They are stationed at Boucher, the city which houses Boucher nuclear facility,
00:36which Iranians and Russians are working with.
00:39And this has been confirmed by the Iranian officials that the IAA inspectors are there to monitor the refueling process
00:45of the Boucher nuclear facility, which is a power plant which can supply 1,000 megawatts of electricity to Iranians,
00:54a country that is now grappling with power outages on a daily basis at my place.
01:00The power is out for four hours today, and usually, typically, I don't have electricity for two hours a day.
01:08So, the Russians apparently have asked the IAA inspectors to be present and monitor the refueling process.
01:15The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesperson said today that the visit was coordinated with the IAA and there will be no inspections until Iran and IAA can reach the new model of cooperation.
01:28And this is contrasting what Rafa Al-Gorsi said, saying that the IAA inspectors will be inspecting a couple of facilities in Iran.
01:38Side reminder, so is Boucher one of the sites that was bombed on June the 22nd by the Americans?
01:44Well, no, Boucher was not there because apparently the Russians had coordinated with the Israelis that that power plant should not be targeted
01:55because apparently there are 600 Russian engineers working there.
02:00During the war, they tried to evacuate one-third of their troops and one-third of their engineers, I must say,
02:05but no, Boucher was never targeted. In fact, the inspectors apparently will be visiting Boucher nuclear power plant and Tehran Research Reactor,
02:16the two sites that were not targeted. The Iranians are reluctant to let the IAA inspectors visit any of the damaged sites.
02:22So, this is the crux of the matter, isn't it, I suppose, that the inspectors are getting in to see something,
02:29but are they getting in to see exactly what they want to see, what they need to see?
02:32No, no, no, they won't be visiting any other facilities, which is the condition that the E3, France, UK and Germany,
02:44put forth for the extension of SNAPAC that the IAA inspectors must be visiting and the IAA must have full access to Iran's nuclear facilities
02:53and gather full transparent information about Iran's nuclear activities.
02:58And this is the problem, is it, because obviously people in Iran must be fearful as to what happens next if those rules, regulations, those requests aren't met.
03:10And clearly there is a sense, I imagine where you are, that something could, some other penalty could be slapped on the country,
03:16and it's usually ordinary people who suffer most.
03:18Well, exactly, Mark. The thing is, we're hearing reports that the SNAPAC mechanism will be triggered tomorrow.
03:27There will be a 30-day process where UN sanctions will be reimposed on Iran, which could mean travel ban for Iranians.
03:34And the market is reacting. Euros and dollars exchange rates in Iran went up by 5% and are hitting a new high.
03:43Saeed, thank you very much indeed for joining us there from Tehran.
03:47Our correspondent there, Saeed Azimi. Thank you.
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