As required by the nuclear deal with Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued its official report on the possible military dimensions of Tehran’s nuclear program. Emily Landau notes that although the report is “shallow and inconclusive,” its authors are certain that the Islamic Republic was violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) through 2009. The U.S., however, has long been planning to ignore this report:
It is not clear whether the [IAEA] investigation will continue or not, and if so, with what degree of emphasis. What is clear is that . . . the Obama administration, [and the other parties to the deal], apparently had no intention of including the investigation into Iran’s past military nuclear program as an integral part of the negotiations on a comprehensive and final deal with Iran, despite clear statements to the contrary. . . .
Although a full understanding of how Iran cheated in the past on its NPT commitment . . . is crucial to carving out effective verification measures regarding future Iranian compliance, the U.S. administration [has] preferred to ignore the past and focus only on the future. Moreover, although a clear determination that Iran had done wrong in the nuclear realm—in direct contradiction to Iran’s false narrative of being a stellar member of the NPT—would have given the [the U.S. and its allies] badly needed leverage during the diplomatic talks, negotiators preferred to avoid a conclusion that they claimed might “humiliate” Iran.
Read more on Tower: http://www.thetower.org/2639-analysis-ignoring-irans-past-deceptions-dooms-nuclear-deal/