Defying Trump, IAEA says Iran honoring nuclear deal
The world atomic energy agency rejected the Trump administration's push to inspect Iranian military sites without a clear reason.
WASHINGTON — Iran is honoring the terms of the landmark 2015 nuclear accord, the UN atomic watchdog said in its latest quarterly assessment today, according to news agencies that obtained the confidential six-page report. The latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessment puts the agency charged with overseeing compliance with the nuclear accord at odds with members of the Donald Trump administration who have signaled that they want to declare Iran in breach of the deal.
IAEA officials said they would not help the Trump administration make a false case for abandoning the agreement.
“If they want to bring down the deal, they will,” an IAEA official told Reuters. “We just don’t want to give them an excuse to.”
The State Department acknowledged the latest IAEA report, the third this year to verify Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. While declining to discuss its details before they are made public, likely at the next IAEA Board of Governors meeting Sept. 11-15, the department effusively praised the IAEA for its Iran monitoring and verification efforts.
