Iran blocking access to nuclear personnel, U.N. inspector says
(Worthy News) – Undermining one of President Obama’s primary arguments for the nuclear deal with Iran, the head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog agency said Iran has refused to allow U.N. inspectors to interview scientists and military officers to investigate allegations that Tehran operated a covert nuclear-weapons program, the Washington Times reported.
Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that Iran has refused for five years to allow the agency to interview Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi, an Iranian military officer suspected of overseeing weaponization development in Tehran until 2003. Mr. Amano said he believes the IAEA still can complete its probe without access to Mr. Fakhrizadeh and other Iranian personnel.
The IAEA’s investigation of Iran’s suspected nuclear program at military sites is expected to be completed in December, under the terms of the nuclear accord reached by the U.S. and other world powers with Iran on July 14. That deal will lift sanctions against Iran in return for curbing the Iranian nuclear program. [ Source ]
Iran nuclear site shows crates, trucks, construction ahead of U.N. inspection
New satellite images of an Iranian site thought to be used for work on a nuclear weapon show crates, trucks and construction that may indicate a renewed attempt to clean up the facility before an inspection by the U.N., a nonproliferation watchdog said Thursday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly raised concerns about previous possibly attempts to clean up the site, located in Parchin.
But the new report by the Institute for Science and International Security — a Washington-based think tank frequently consulted by the U.S. government — is significant because the IAEA will soon visit the site as part of the new nuclear deal, The Associated Press reported. [ Source ]