Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano warned that a collapse of the nuclear agreement with Iran would be a “significant loss.”
Following a closed session of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog in Vienna that is tasked with monitoring the nuclear restrictions based on the JCPOA, the abbreviation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the IAEA Director General provided member states with his most wide-ranging defense of the accord to date, listing numbers of buildings inspected, images captured and even seals placed on equipment since the agreement was put into effect. Amano claimed that the JCPOA provided his agency with the most robust verification regime in the Islamic Republic, which allowed the IAEA to access all locations that is sought to visit.
While Amano declined to comment on the position of the United States or any other country on the nuclear agreement with Iran, his remarks were viewed as a response to Washington’s threat to withdraw from the accord. Furthermore, the nuclear watchdog chief also stopped short from talking about Iran’s unwillingness to allow his agency access to military facilities, which Tehran claims “would pose direct danger to its national security interests.”