Israeli Official Downplays IAEA’s Iran Deal
The announcement that International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) head Yukiya Amano had struck a deal with Iran Tuesday to inspect its nuclear facilities was received in Jerusalem with great suspicion.
According to a top Israeli official, the government is very skeptical that Iran would adhere to any deal.
“The Iranians are serial agreement violators,” said the official. “We know from past experiences how all these agreements between the IAEA and Iran end. Iran continued to establish uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz under the nose of the international community. The IAEA’s last report refers to the military intentions of Iran’s nuclear program. North Korea has also reached agreements with the IAEA in the past, and this ended in two nuclear attempts.”
The official added that it is necessary to distinguish between the talks held by Amano in Tehran and the ones set to open on Wednesday in Baghdad between Iran and the P5+1 countries (United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany). “Amano’s talks in Tehran dealt mostly with the issue of inspection over nuclear facilities,” said the official. “This is not enough. The Iranian plan continues and needs to be stopped, which means an end to uranium enrichment.”
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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