WASHINGTON – Iran has agreed to leave United Nations inspectors in two previously blocked nuclear sites, officials said Wednesday and returned at an international feud over its nuclear program that has divided world powers and increasingly isolated the United States.
In a joint statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran said they had reached a good faith agreement for the inspections to verify that Tehran’s nuclear program remained peaceful. Iran provides “voluntary” access to the sites, the statement said, and the inspections are planned.
After what it called “intensive” discussions, the nuclear agency “has no further questions for Iran,” the statement said.
Just two months ago, the IAEA accused Iran of concealing suspicious nuclear activity after inspectors were denied access to the two unknown locations. The agency, which serves as the UN’s nuclear watchdog, also said Iran had been evading investigations into its possible declared nuclear material and activities for a year.
But with the UN Security Council arguing over whether to restore international sanctions against Iran’s economy – and repeal a 2015 agreement that limits its nuclear program – Tehran has weakened its earlier opposition.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described relations with the IAEA as “very good” and said he hoped to increase cooperation with the bureau. He said the IAEA had a “lifelong responsibility” to help keep the 2015 nuclear deal intact.
His remarks, as reported by Iranian state media, came after a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with Rafael Grossi, the IAEA’s director general.
Mr Rouhani also said that a large majority of the states in the Security Council continued to support the 2015 agreement, and he expressed hope that American “unilateralism” would come to an end, reports the Islamic Republic News Agency.
The State faction urged the inspections to be thorough and forthcoming, given that the IAEA has yet to be assured that Iran’s nuclear program complies with international guidelines.
“Access is only the first step,” the department said in a statement. “Iran must provide nothing less than full cooperation, and the IAEA needs answers to its questions about potential unexplained nuclear material and activities in Iran.”
The IAEA inspections are not part of the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Bureau will only focus on nuclear material and activities relevant to specific protocols as required by the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Agreement.
But the Trump administration had seized on IAEA findings in June as an example of Iran’s tarnished diplomacy.
Although the IAEA did not identify the two sites to be monitored, Israeli intelligence officials identified one as the Abadeh Nuclear Weapons Development Site. It is believed that experiments with conventional explosives were carried out there. When inspectors requested access last year, satellite photos showed that some buildings were being leveled.
In 2018, following a campaign promise, President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council. (Germany was also a signatory to the deal, which was largely negotiated by the Obama administration and the European Union.)
But since then, the State Department has failed to force Iran back into negotiations for a new deal to also limit Tehran’s ballistic missile program and military aid to Shiite militias throughout the Middle East. A US sanctions campaign to pressure Iran by denying it billions of dollars in exports and revenue has also angered other nations who want the original nuclear deal preserved.
On Wednesday morning, the State Department tweeted a photo of Mr. Trump boasting that he has “imposed the toughest ever sanctions on Iran.”
“This has caused major problems for giving their money to terrorist organizations,” the tweet said.
The Trump administration is now demanding that the United Nations restore broader, international sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the 2015 agreement. On Tuesday, however, the president of the Security Council said that there was not enough support for the American question and therefore it was “not in a position to take further action.”
The flap has alienated the United States from its closest allies in Europe, where diplomats have said the Trump administration offers few opportunities to negotiate and has shown no willingness to compromise before attempting to force sanctions through the Security Council.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has argued that the sanctions should be reinstated, as required by Security Council resolutions, to punish Iran for violating certain terms of the nuclear deal. But European diplomats say a dispute settlement mechanism called for by Britain, France and Germany in January must be resolved before international sanctions can be lifted.
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting.
