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Iran Submits Information on Past Nuclear Work to U.N. Agency, Long Work Ahead

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Iran Submits Information on Past Nuclear Work to U.N. Agency, Long Work Ahead

The Wall Street Journal, 15 August 2015


Iran has submitted documents and material about its past nuclear work on time, the United Nations’ nuclear oversight agency said Saturday, but it provided no assessment of how much clarity the new information shed on Tehran’s past activities.
Iran’s past nuclear work, which the U.S. and many other Western countries believe was aimed at gaining nuclear weapons know-how, has become one of the key issues in the political fight in Washington over July’s nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.
U.S. lawmakers, who will vote next month on the Iran deal, say the agreement provides no guarantees that Tehran will offer clear explanations of its past nuclear work. Critics say that information is crucial to judge how long it would take Iran to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to breach the agreement.
Under an agreement struck last month between Iran and the IAEA, Tehran had until Saturday to provide documents, material and other information to explain a series of questions the U.N. agency has asked about Iran’s past work.
The IAEA will have a month to analyze the information. The two sides will then hold discussions in Tehran in September and October to follow up on remaining questions or concerns the agency has.
In a one-sentence statement Saturday, the agency said, “Iran today provided the IAEA with its explanation in writing and related documents as agreed” last month.