The US ambassador to the UN claims her upcoming talks in Vienna are aimed at “asking” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if it plans to inspect Iranian military sites during its verification of Tehran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
Nikki Haley is set to hold talks with IAEA officials in the Austrian capital Wednesday on what she called “a fact-finding mission” as part of US President Donald Trump’s order to review the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of world states, including the US.
“If you look … at past Iranian behavior, what you’ve seen is there have been covert actions at military sites, at universities, things like that,” Haley claimed in remarks to Reuters.
“There were already issues in those locations, so are they including that in what they look at to make sure that those issues no longer remain?” she said.
The IAEA monitors the technical aspects of the nuclear deal, which took effect in January 2016.
The UN nuclear watchdog has so far invariably verified Iran’s commitment to the accord, which lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran in exchange for certain limits on its nuclear activities.
The Trump administration has sharply criticized the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The US president has described the JCPOA as “the worst deal I’ve ever seen negotiated,” and even threatened to “rip up” the accord during his election campaign.
The White House has twice certified Iran’s compliance, but it has reportedly been seeking ways to potentially prevent further IAEA certifications.
Washington is now conducting a review of the deal to see whether continued sanctions relief — a US commitment under the agreement — is in the national interest of the US.
Source: Press TV
