The EU has underlined this week that there must be no deal on Iran’s nuclear programme without a UN probe into its nuclear history. The cautionary EU statement comes ahead of the June 30th deadline for a nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1.
The EU statement underlines that getting to the bottom of the allegations “will be essential” to a nuclear deal, and that Iran also would have to accept limits on its present nuclear activities.
The news comes as Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week asserted that Iran would not commit to the transparency measures insisted on by the US until they “see the final text”. Iran’s envoy Reza Najafi also rejected cooperating with the IAEA on assessing the ‘possible military dimensions’ (PMDs) of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The additional protocol would provide IAEA inspectors access to suspected nuclear sites with a little as two hours notice, as well the ability to take soil samples to to detect past nuclear activity.
As the nuclear deal deadline approaches, a new report by the Associated Press has indicated that the White House interprets ballistic missile sanctions as part of the nuclear sanctions that would be removed in a final deal. This is despite the fact that throughout the negotiations, US President Barack Obama’s administration has maintained that in the event of a final deal, the sanctions relating to ballistic missiles, human rights and terror activities would remain in place. The White House has previously affirmed that only nuclear-related sanctions would be lifted.
