UN nuclear chief: Iran accord failure would be ‘great loss’

VIENNA — The failure of the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers to restrict Tehran’s nuclear program would be a “great loss,” the head of the UN’s atomic watchdog says Monday.

International Atomic Energy Agency director general Yukiya Amano says Iran is, as of today, “implementing its nuclear-related commitments” under the deal.

In a speech opening a meeting of the IAEA’s board of governors, Amano says the deal “represents a significant gain for verification,” and that if it “were to fail, it would be a great loss for nuclear verification and for multilateralism.”

Last month, an IAEA report said Iran was continuing to abide by the deal’s key measures.

Amano says inspectors had had “access to all the sites and locations which we needed to visit.”

He adds that the agency had requested “further clarifications” over notification that Iran gave the agency in January regarding its stated intentions to construct “naval nuclear propulsion” at some point in the future.

— AFP