Iran said Monday it independently collected samples at the suspicious Parchin military site where illicit nuclear work occurred, and later handed them to the UN’s absent inspectors, AFP reported. This will most like raise serious criticism.
The disclosure that international monitors were not physically present is likely to feed critics of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, who have poured scorn on measures used to check if Tehran’s atomic programme is peaceful.
The site at Parchin, east of the capital Tehran, has been at the center of international skepticism of Iran’s activities, specifically that as late as 2003 it carried out work there aimed at developing an atomic weapon.
The sample taking is linked to a so-called roadmap with a December 15 deadline by when the IAEA says ambiguities about past possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear activities must be resolved.
Much work remains to be done on that report, Amano said.
Iran’s environmental sampling from specific parts of the Parchin complex took place in the past week.
– Entry earlier refused –
“Inside the building, we saw indications of recent renovation work. There was no equipment in the building,” he said before appearing to criticise past construction work at Parchin.
“As I have stated in my reports.. the extensive work that has been conducted at the location since early 2012 undermines the agency’s ability to conduct effective verification there.
“Our experts will now analyse this information and we will have discussions with Iran in the coming weeks.”
Reports that international inspectors would not be physically present during sampling were seized on recently by Republicans in the US Congress, who say Iran could cheat the IAEA’s monitoring and inspections regime.
The deal cannot go ahead until the accusations about the past possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear activities are resolved.
Under that agreement Iran, in exchange for the lifting of crippling international sanctions, agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme that experts say would make any dash to produce a weapon all but impossible.
The Republican-led House of Representatives this month rejected the nuclear deal