IAEA Displays Their Incompetence Beforehand (Rev 15:2)

U.N. Agency Unsure About Iran’s Past Nuclear Activity

Iran hasn’t sufficiently answered questions about its nuclear program’s history, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says.

By Teresa Welsh March 23, 2015

As a deadline approaches next week for an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the head of the U.N. agency in charge of nuclear inspections said his organization is unable to ensure that all of Iran’s nuclear material is intended for peaceful purposes.

“We are still not in a position to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is [for a] peaceful purpose,” Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said at the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington on Monday. “Progress has been very limited in clarifying issues with possible military dimensions.”

The IAEA is the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, and is responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities. It isn’t party to the current nuclear negotiations between Iran and six major world powers, including the U.S., but is charged with ensuring the implementation of an interim agreement governing the talks until a final deal is reached. IAEA inspectors are on the ground in Iran and have access to the country’s nuclear facilities to ensure it is no longer enriching uranium.

“We will remain the eyes and ears of the international community on nuclear matters in Iran,” Amano said. “We expect Iran to be as transparent as possible.”

Amano stressed that his agency is responsible for clarifying the technical elements of Iran’s nuclear program, but that it is up to U.N. member states to determine the appropriate response to any violations.

A confidential IAEA report detailed by Reuters last week said that Iran continues to meet its obligations under the interim Joint Plan of Action and is not enriching uranium above a 5 percent concentration. But Amano said Monday that although Iran has been compliant, the country has not sufficiently addressed other issues his agency raised in a 2011 report, which focused on 12 areas of concern about the possible military dimensions of its past nuclear activities.

A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives also expressed concern that Iran has not revealed the full extent of its previous nuclear actions in a letter to President Barack Obama on Friday.

“Unless we have a full understanding of Iran’s past program it will be impossible for the international community to judge Iran’s future breakout time with certainty,” the 367 House members wrote.