Amano said he had discussed issues related to the IAEA’s monitoring and verification of Iranian commitments, as well as his agency’s ongoing investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programs.
Advertisement
Iran and five United Nations Security Council permanent members plus Germany have been negotiating over the past 16 months to reach a long-term deal over Tehran’s disputed atomic plan.
“My impression is that the political will (to get a deal) exists but that this has not yet been transmitted to the bureaucrats” working on the text, Zarif, due to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry later, told Iranian television. But he also spoke of “some tough issues”, telling reporters, “We have a lot of work to do”. But hopes of progress any time soon on that issue dimmed Friday.
Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N.’s global Atomic Energy Agency, said his meetings with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani resulted in a “better understanding on some ways forward”, but “more work will be needed”. The formulation of his statement was similar to previous ones issued by the IAEA, which has struggled for almost a decade to resolve its concerns. Iran has previously acknowledged some activities like experiments with detonators, but says those activities had no connection to exploding a nuclear device and were instead developed for industrial purposes.
President Barack Obama, hoping to calm those who oppose the deal because they don’t trust Iran to hold up its end, has said the US would maintain the ability to snap sanctions back into place if Iran cheats.
Iran rejects the allegations, saying they are based on bogus intelligence provided to a gullible and partial IAEA by the likes of the CIA and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Zarif’s video comes as more than a year and a half of talks are culminating in a frenzied round of sessions aimed at getting Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of worldwide sanctions.
After Amano’s comments, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on the nuclear deal, warned about the inspection of military sites and allowing Iran’s nuclear scientists to be interviewed by the IAEA.
Advertisement
And for that reason, US officials have regularly stressed that rules for inspections in an agreement with Iran would have to go beyond those laid out by the IAEA, including even a “dispute resolution process” to force Iran to open up facilities, if necessary.
