WASHINGTON — The international watchdog agency charged with verifying Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal said Thursday that critics of the deal “misrepresent” its plans for doing so.
In an unusual rebuttal from his headquarters in Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said he was “disturbed” by suggestions “that the IAEA has given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran.”
Amano’s statement came after opponents of the deal seized on an Associated Press account of IAEA plans to assess the “possible military dimensions,” or PMDs, of Iranian nuclear activity prior to 2003 to expand their criticism of the broader agreement restricting Iran’s future nuclear program.
The AP reported from Vienna that it had obtained a copy of an IAEA-Iran draft agreement on PMDs, which U.S. intelligence has said were based primarily at the Parchin military complex, indicating Iran would be allowed to collect its own samples there for IAEA inspection.
While it technically is not part of the broader accord negotiated between Iran and world powers, that agreement cannot go into effect until the IAEA certifies it is satisfied with the PMD inspections.
