Amano: Significant Progress Made on Iran's Nuclear Program History

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, stated after a two-day visit to Iran on Monday, September 30, that "significant progress" has been made in investigating the history of Tehran's nuclear program. Amano also mentioned that much work remains to complete the investigations before the December 15 deadline. The Parchin site is where the agency claims Iran likely conducted military-nuclear tests aimed at building an atomic bomb over the past decade. Tehran has denied these allegations but has not allowed agency inspectors to directly sample from this site. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the IRNA news agency on Monday that "last week, several environmental samples were taken from specific points in the Parchin complex solely by Iranian specialists and without the presence of agency inspectors," and these samples were provided to experts at the international organization. He emphasized that these sampling operations were conducted "in accordance with relevant regulations and standards." In his statements on Monday, Amano confirmed that the sampling process was carried out with "responsibility and oversight" of the agency. However, he did not indicate whether agency inspectors were present during the sampling at the site. Amano stated that the agency "confirms the integrity of the sampling process and the validity of the samples." According to a report by the German news agency, the samples have been transferred to Vienna—the agency's headquarters—and are set to be analyzed to determine if they contain remnants of high-explosive tests. The Director General, who visited the Parchin site with his deputy during his trip to Iran, told reporters that he saw a building that was likely used for testing, but it has recently been renovated and emptied of equipment, which could affect the investigations. He stated, "The extensive operations that have taken place at this site since 2012 raise doubts about the agency's ability to pursue the verification process." According to a roadmap document signed on July 14 this year between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the agency, ambiguities regarding the history of Iran's nuclear program are to be resolved. The agency aims to gather all necessary information about the past and present of Iran's nuclear program by October 15, and Yukiya Amano is set to present his final report to the Board of Governors on December 15. This report could pave the way for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Vienna Agreement, which was reached on July 14 between Iran and six world powers.