The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano declared that Iran was abiding by the rules set out in the nuclear agreement, rejecting Washington’s claim that the Islamic Republic was not adhering to the deal. Amano further stressed that the UN’s nuclear watchdog will continue to implement inspections to Iranian sites that the Islamic Republic provides complementary access to, in accordance with the implementation of additional protocol, as is done in other countries of inspection.
When asked regarding Iran’s ongoing rejection of any inspections of its military sites and essentially, how many sites Iran was willing to provide the nuclear watchdog with access to, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency stressed that Iran’s provision of complementary accesses was classified, yet Amano was willing to assert that Tehran’s compliance was more frequent than in other countries with extensive nuclear programs.
For many Iranians — including those who support the nuclear deal — keeping inspectors out of military facilities is a point of national pride, with officials stressing that “any country’s defense systems should be off-limits to international inspections.” Iran has consistently argued that inspections of military sites would violate national sovereignty, although the 2015 deal it signed with world powers allows inspectors to gain limited access to any site where illicit nuclear activity is suspected.