Haley: US Inquiry to Agency Regarding Visits to Iran's Military Sites

The United States representative to the United Nations, who recently traveled to Vienna to meet with officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), states that her government wants to know whether this body has plans to verify Iran's nuclear activities and commitments through visits to the country's military sites. Nikki Haley is scheduled to meet with IAEA officials on Wednesday, September 1. Before this meeting, she mentioned in an interview with Reuters that Iran has previously engaged in covert actions at military, academic, or other locations. Haley states that there are issues at these sites, and the question now is whether the verification of Iran's activities related to the nuclear agreement includes these issues as well. She added that inspectors have the authority to inspect 'any suspicious site': 'The only point is whether they are doing this work or not.' Haley indicated that the questions she intends to raise include 'Do you have everything under surveillance? Are you monitoring the sites where covert actions were previously conducted? Are you able to access these areas? Or has it been delayed? Have you been prevented from inspecting these things?' The senior US diplomat at the UN emphasized that her intention is not to force the IAEA to do anything specific but to raise questions on this matter. Earlier, on August 7, the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected similar reports regarding the US's attempts to visit 'suspicious' military sites. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for this ministry, stated, 'We will continue the past process seriously, and this is one of those dreams that I think will remain unfulfilled and wishes that will not come true.' He is not the only Iranian official to respond to this particular issue, as other senior officials of the Islamic Republic have also rejected such claims. On the other hand, Haley stated, 'If they (Iran) have nothing to hide, why do they say such things? Why do they not allow the IAEA to visit?' Tehran claims that military sites are 'part of its security domain.' Reuters, which interviewed Nikki Haley, reported on her trip to Vienna in mid-August. The Trump administration confirmed on July 17, just hours before the legal deadline for a 90-day report to the US Congress, that Iran remains compliant with the nuclear agreement and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), although it has acted contrary to its 'spirit.' Mr. Trump, a staunch critic of the nuclear negotiations and agreement between Tehran, the previous US administration, and five other world powers, had promised during his election campaign to abandon this agreement if he won the presidency. After Trump's victory, US officials did not emphasize the unilateral abandonment of the nuclear agreement, but they have repeatedly stated that they intend to review it. The US President has stated in various interviews over the past weeks that, in his view, Iran is not adhering to the 'spirit' of the nuclear agreement. In response to a Reuters question regarding the future of the nuclear agreement in the United States and whether Trump intends to continue it, Haley said, 'We do not know whether he will confirm or reject Iran's [commitment to] this agreement.' The US government is required to provide a report to Congress every 90 days and state whether it confirms Iran's commitments or not. So far, these commitments have been confirmed, and the nuclear agreement and the lifting of related sanctions have continued. Iranian officials have stated that they are committed to the agreement, but if sanctions continue or if there is a return to the pre-agreement era, Tehran could quickly resume its previous activities, including enrichment. Previously, the US, France, Germany, and the UK, which were present in the Iran and 5+1 negotiations, criticized Iran's missile tests, describing these actions as 'inconsistent' with the spirit of the agreement and called for their cessation. These four countries have also stated that missile tests pose a threat to stability in the West Asian region. The spokesman for Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, told Reuters that, in Guterres's view, the current nuclear agreement is 'one of the most important diplomatic achievements in the process of achieving peace and stability.' The nuclear agreement was reached two years ago in July. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, on one hand, has halted major parts of Iran's nuclear activities and, on the other hand, has lifted related sanctions.