Reuters: Nikki Haley to Visit Vienna to Assess Iran's Nuclear Activities

On August 9, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. government official, that the U.S. representative to the United Nations is set to visit Vienna, the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to meet with agency inspectors and discuss Iran's nuclear activities. The official stated that Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, plans to meet with IAEA officials and the U.S. delegation present in Vienna to pursue further inquiries regarding the status and scope of Iran's nuclear program. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, mentioned that "Ms. Haley has emphasized her and the government's concerns regarding Iran's illegal missile tests and other harmful activities." On July 17, just hours before the legal deadline for submitting a 90-day report to the U.S. Congress, the Trump administration confirmed that Iran remains compliant with the provisions of the nuclear agreement and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), although it has acted contrary to its "spirit." Trump, a staunch critic of the negotiations and the nuclear deal between Tehran, the previous U.S. administration, and five other global powers, had promised during his election campaign to abandon the agreement if he won the presidency. After Trump's victory, U.S. officials did not emphasize the unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal, but they repeatedly stated their intention to review it. Two weeks ago, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. president remarked about the nuclear deal, "We will talk about this in another 90 days, but I would be surprised if they remain compliant (with the agreement)." One of the points that U.S. officials and also the European countries involved in the nuclear talks with Iran—Germany, France, and the UK—are demanding is the cessation of missile tests. These three countries, along with the United States, issued a joint statement in early August calling for an end to ballistic missile tests. They expressed concern over a recent missile test in Iran, stating that such actions threaten security and stability in the region and are inconsistent with the nuclear agreement. According to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, issued after the nuclear agreement was reached to endorse it at the UN, Iran is requested to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads for eight years. Tehran has since been accused of continuing such tests despite this resolution. Nikki Haley had previously stated that the challenge with Iran returns to the issue of trust: "Iran's extensive support for terrorism tells us we cannot trust them. Their non-compliance with missile test commitments tells us we cannot trust them." Iran has denied supporting terrorism. Iranian officials argue that missile tests are not in violation of the nuclear agreement because "the tested missiles were not designed to carry nuclear warheads." On the other hand, senior Iranian officials, during their recent meeting with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, described the new U.S. sanctions as "destructive" to the nuclear agreement and accused the U.S. government of intending to "destroy the JCPOA at Iran's expense." Last week, Donald Trump, the U.S. president, signed and enacted a bill to intensify sanctions against Iran, Russia, and North Korea, which paves the way for U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.