Once the agency confirms that Iran has modified or cut back on programs and activities that could be re-engineered to produce the fissile core of nuclear weapons, individual and worldwide sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program will be lifted. The US’ ambassador to the United Nations nuclear body, Henry Ensher, said the report was “an important milestone”, but that trust would be regained only after Iran implemented the steps under the agreement signed in July.
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“The IAEA report clearly indicates once again that Iran has conducted a coordinated effort to develop a nuclear explosive device, including activities taking place after 2003”, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
During their 12-year investigation into Iran’s nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency found some of the allegations leveled against the country were true. “The IAEA could have recommended delaying Implementation Day until Iran demonstrated substantial compliance with its obligation to explain its past illicit nuclear activities”.
As part of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed to formally end the investigation.
The U.S. requested the Security Council take action against Iran, but punitive measures seem unlikely given Russian Federation and China’s concerns that it could imperil the nuclear deal. The agreement was a “secret side deal”, they claimed, that critics from both sides of the aisle said underscored their fears that the pact did not adequately hold Iran’s feet to the fire.
“Iran is continuing to focus on further improvement of the performance of its existing ballistic missile system with a particular focus on accuracy”, said the report. “All parties must fully implement their commitments under the JCPOA”, Amano said. “It seems, therefore, that the decision made today was political and not practical, and for this reason it sends a wrong message to the Iranians, that the global community is willing to look the other way”, he said, according to the Ynet news website. “Iran is developing ICBM capabilities, and the sole goal of an Iranian ICBM is to enable delivery of a nuclear weapon to the United States”. It notes the firing chamber is no longer in the building but adds, “Information available to the Agency, including the results of the analysis of the samples and the satellite images, does not support Iran’s statements on the objective of the building”.
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Following Iran’s October 10 ballistic missile test, Senator Corker, along with committee members Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry seeking a determination on whether the test violated UNSCR 1929 and how the USA would respond.
