Yukiya Amano's Presence in the U.S. Senate Raises Concerns for Iran Over Disclosure of Agreement with the Agency

Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),'s decision to appear before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has triggered reactions from Iranian officials. In the latest response, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, emphasized the need for Amano to maintain the agency's independence and neutrality, urging that Iran's security considerations be respected during his meeting with U.S. senators. According to Fars News Agency, Kamalvandi stated, "Iran's emphasis in all negotiations with the agency has been to preserve considerations and concerns regarding the confidentiality of information and the nature of the agreements made with this international body." He referred to the recent agreement between Iran and the agency, noting that it was a continuation of the Tehran statement for step-by-step cooperation between Tehran and the agency, aimed at clarifying past and present issues and ending the long-standing questions from the agency once and for all. Behrouz Bayat, a former advisor to the IAEA residing in Vienna, explained Kamalvandi's remarks, stating that the agreement between Salehi and Amano contained 18 questions from the agency, of which two or three remained unanswered, specifically concerning the military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program. Iran's insistence has always been that this process must come to an end; it cannot continue indefinitely, which is a crucial point, but the problem lies in the details. Why is this issue secret and not disclosed? In fact, addressing the military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program requires certain mechanisms, such as visits to the Parchin military site or discussions with Iranian specialists. Since these have been defined as red lines by Ayatollah Khamenei, the challenge lies in how to handle them without apparently crossing these red lines. In my opinion, the reason for the secrecy is rooted in this issue. On the other hand, Reza Najafi, Iran's representative to the IAEA, also warned on Saturday, August 1, in response to the news of Yukiya Amano's presence in the U.S. Senate, about the potential disclosure of Iran's agreement with the agency. He stated, "The agency knows what the disclosure of confidential texts means, and Iran has made this completely clear to the agency's Director General." Behrouz Kamalvandi also mentioned that in the tenth clause of the Iran-IAEA agreement, it was agreed that Iran's security considerations and concerns would be taken into account. According to the contract between Iran and the IAEA, signed just hours before the announcement of the Vienna agreement, sensitive remaining issues, such as Tehran's potentially military-nuclear activities at the Parchin site, must be resolved by the end of 2015.