(Jerusalem Post) Ephraim Asculai - On Sept. 21, 2015, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ) director-general proudly announced that "certain IAEA safeguards activities were carried out at the particular location at the [Iranian] Parchin site. These included the taking of environmental samples." The IAEA had first requested access to this site, suspected of hosting activities related to development by Iran of a nuclear explosive device, in 2012. According to satellite observations, the Iranians subsequently cleared the site, removing earth layers and all possible traces of previous activities. In spite of the probable futility of inspections at the site, they were carried out in September. While the results of the sample analyses are not yet in, the IAEA will probably announce that the inspection at Parchin did not produce any evidence of wrongdoing at the site. Case closed. It is most unfortunate that the politicians, in their haste to conclude an agreement, gave up on the most basic of professional principles, thus paving the road for shortcuts that would provide the wrong answers and put in doubt the assurances that the world so needs. The Parchin case is but one sad farce that presages others. The writer, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, worked at the Israel Atomic Energy Commission for over 40 years.
2015-09-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive