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Iran's Other Nuclear Violations

(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - The media barely noticed, but the world on Friday called out Iran for blocking nuclear inspections unrelated to the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has been a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since 1970. As a signatory, it has committed to use nuclear material and technology only for peaceful purposes - and to cooperate with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. On Friday the IAEA board of governors demanded that Tehran provide "prompt access to the locations specified by the Agency." "While everyone was staring at the JCPOA [the 2015 deal], new safeguards problems have arisen in a very different lane," U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford noted. "It is the first time ever by any country anywhere that a government has rejected and refused to comply with its obligations under the IAEA's Additional Protocol." France, Germany and the UK introduced the rebuke, which passed 25-2 with seven abstentions. Their role here shows a trans-Atlantic consensus around the nature of the Iranian regime, despite disagreements about how to contain it. The IAEA has often given public cover to Iran's noncompliance and the agency's shift is welcome. The next step should be an IAEA referral to the UN Security Council, and U.S.-Europe cooperation on sanctions.
2020-06-23 00:00:00
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