Israel demands atomic watchdog disclose side deal with Iran
Official says report on secret IAEA agreement at Parchin proves that Israeli concerns about nuclear pact were correct
Israel on Thursday demanded the publication of undisclosed agreements reached between Iran and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, after a report on part of the accord detailed Iran’s ability to police itself at a suspected military nuclear site.
An Israeli diplomatic official said the report had proven Israeli opposition to the nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers correct.
“There is just one safe way to verify this report: for the world powers to publicize all appendixes to the nuclear deal with Iran,” a diplomatic official said.
The IAEA has refused to publicize details of the agreements it reached with Tehran, but on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported the nuclear watchdog ceded the responsibility of nuclear inspections at the Parchin military complex to Tehran officials.
The IAEA inspection of Parchin, a site believed by some experts to be where Iran has previously experimented with high-explosive detonators for nuclear arms, is linked to a broader probe of allegations that the Islamic Republic has worked on atomic weapons in the past.
“The more details we learn about the Iran deal the more we realize that our worries were justified and correct,” the Israeli official said.
The Parchin deal is a side agreement worked out directly between the IAEA and Iran, and is not linked directly to the multilateral nuclear deal signed on July 14, though the US says it will only ease sanctions once the atomic watchdog gives its stamp of approval.
The United States and five other world powers that signed the July 14 nuclear agreement were not party to the Parchin deal but were briefed on it by the IAEA and endorsed it as part of the larger package. The IAEA said the organization was required by law not to reveal the details of its agreements with Iran.
Earlier on Thursday, the IAEA said it was was satisfied with arrangements concerning the inspection of Iranian military facilities, and an agency spokesman said the arrangements were “consistent with the IAEA verification practice and they meet the IAEA requirements.”
IAEA head Yukiya Amano called the agreement “technically sound” and said the AP report had misrepresented his agency’s work.
The White House also endorsed the confidential arrangements, and said it was “confident” in the abilities of the IAEA to monitor and inspect the possible military dimensions on Iran’s past nuclear work and was “comfortable” with agreement between the IAEA and Tehran to ensure compliance with the nuclear deal.
Iran has refused access to Parchin for years. Based on US, Israeli and other intelligence and its own research, the IAEA suspects that the Islamic Republic may have experimented with high-explosive detonators for nuclear arms at that military facility.
The IAEA has also repeatedly cited evidence, based on satellite images, of possible attempts to sanitize the site since the alleged work stopped more than a decade ago.
Israel has repeatedly slammed the nuclear deal concluded by the P5+1 powers and Iran, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branding it a historic mistake that will both pave Iran’s path to the bomb and, by lifting sanctions, cement the Islamist regime in power and allow it to fund more terrorist activity and other dangerous regional interventions.
AP contributed to this report.