International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is widely regarded as being a fair, natural, and objective resource for providing nuclear guidance for countries as well as to the UN. Their expertise is widely considered to be second to none, and this has made them very well respected in the international community.
With the UN watchdog organization announcing that the country had not provided credible answers to long-standing questions about the origin of uranium particles detected at three previously undeclared sites, they are now finding themselves in perilous waters.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed the report was not entirely accurate when speaking with reports on May 31st. “Unfortunately, this report does not reflect the reality of talks between Iran and the agency. This is not a fair nor balanced report, and it seems that pressure from the Zionists and other actors has diverted the path of technical reports to the political field – and we expect this trend to be corrected.”
The IAEA will be having a meeting of their 35-country panel coming up soon, this lack of progress in Iran could set the table for a clash during their review. With a stalled 2015 nuclear deal hanging in the balance, this report could significantly delay its revival. While they have stopped short of fully admonishing the country, that could be on the table during these meetings.
French deputy of foreign ministry Francois Delmas spoke with reporters about clearing things up with Iran but did not sound hopeful for any meaningful resolution given their past. “We call on Iran to respond without delay to the questions and needs of the IAEA under its safeguards agreement. We are in close consultation with our partners on the follow-up to be given to this situation at the next Board of Governors.”
While Iran has had indirect talks with the US about the nuclear deal earlier this year in Vienna, they did not seem especially hopeful. This agreement between Tehran and world leaders was left by President Trump back in 2018. Considering the lack of progress from Iran and their unwillingness to provide details to inspectors for the last two decades, it is no wonder President Trump left the deal behind.
In turn, President Biden seems committed to finding a way to make things work. While Iran is unwilling to compromise in their beliefs that they can do as they please, President Biden is scaling back his push to have the country completely without nuclear advancements. His previous statements about being firm with them seem to be shriveling up worse than his ability to provide a solid public appearance.
The global response to the possibility of a nuclear Iran must be firm. In numerous reports over the years, Iran has been targeted as being responsible for much of the success of terrorist organizations in recent years. Their quest to bring the middle east and then the globe under complete Islamic control cannot be ignored. For them to be successful in this quest, the development of nuclear weapons would be a huge leap in progress.
Meanwhile, Iran maintains the same stance that its nuclear capabilities are to produce nuclear power to better provide electricity for its people. The recent discovery of the three previously undisclosed locations and the presence of uranium particles in these locations leave ample evidence of their nefarious dealings. The US nor the globe can stand by idly while they make progress towards their nuclear goals. Given the progress North Korea is making in their technology as well, it is only a matter of time until either country becomes truly nuclear capable unless the IAEA does something significant.
