Once the deal takes effect, Iran will still be “called upon” not to undertake any ballistic missiles work created to deliver nuclear weapons for a period of up to eight years, according to a Security Council resolution adopted in July right after the nuclear deal.
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The Agency assesses that a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort, and some activities took place after 2003, he said, stressing that while the IAEA could not reconstruct all details of Irans past activities, it could clarify enough to assess the whole picture.
Amano made the remarks as the IAEA’s Board of Governors convened in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday to vote on a draft resolution forwarded to it by the P5+1 group of countries on Iran’s nuclear program. “I will inform the Board promptly when the Agency has verified that the preparatory steps have been completed”, he said.
“I fear the Iranians are taking action after action in this area and others to demonstrate that they are willing to flout global rules, regulations and restrictions, and in the absence of our decisive action, these misdeeds by the Iranians will simply continue and escalate”, he said in comments on the Senate floor.
The dispute over the ballistic missile launch indicates lingering questions about Iran’s weapons programs.
The United States is also looking at reports of a new ballistic missile test on November 24. Iran also has to change the design of a new nuclear reactor being built at Arak so that it produces substantially less plutonium, the alternative to uranium in a nuclear weapon. “On the basis of its analysis and findings the Panel concludes that Emad launch is a violation by Iran of paragraph 9 of Security Council resolution 1929”, reads the 10-page report.
In exchange, economic sanctions against Iran – amounting to about $100 billion in frozen funds – would be lifted.
Chief Iranian delegate Reza Najafi on Tuesday denied such work, in keeping with his country’s constant line during the protracted probe. Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon accused Iran of being “non-cooperative and deceptive”, while Israel’s IAEA delegate, while Merav Zafary-Odiz, decried the “erroneous resolution” ending the probe.
It moves Iran one step closer towards achieving major sanctions relief. “The Security Council is merely exhorting Iran (“Iran is called upon”) to refrain from such activity”.
“The Islamic republic re-emphasizes its commitments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s (NPT) conventions”, Zarif said on Tuesday, adding that “Iran announces its readiness to fully implement its obligations vis-a-vis the JCPOA, provided that the P5+1 group also remains bound to its commitments”. The missile launch wasn’t exactly covert.
Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), said that if the missile launches go unpunished, Iran would be emboldened.
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The report by the chair of the Iran Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Román Oyarzunttee, cited another investigation by the panel into an allegation that Iran attempted to procure titanium alloy bars, which can withstand extreme temperatures and be used in military and space equipment, in violation of sanctions.
