Iran Atomic Inspections Double With Deal Questioned by Trump
11 September 2017

Iran has received nearly two snap nuclear inspections a month and almost double the overall number of visits it had just five years ago, indicating the value of the deal the U.S. and its allies reached in 2015 to rein in the country’s nuclear program.

International Atomic Energy Agency monitors conducted 402 site visits and 25 snap inspections in the first 12 months since the deal was enacted in early 2016, according to data from reports to IAEA members. The figures may help dispel doubts over the adequacy of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement involving the U.S., China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K.

The future of the deal has been under threat since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. He pledged to tear up the agreement in his election campaign, and his United Nations envoy Nikki Haley last week questioned what the U.S. gets out of it. The IAEA reported Aug. 31 that Iran stuck to its commitments under the pact, which capped nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief, and Trump has until Oct. 15 to decide whether to certify Iran’s compliance.

“Verification in Iran is the most robust regime which currently exists,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said Monday at a press briefing in Vienna. “We have increased the inspection days, inspector staff numbers and images. From a safeguards point of view, this is a significant gain.”

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