News / Interviews

IAEA report on Iran military sites puts US to shame: Analyst

Friday, 01 September 2017 3:26 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 01 September 2017 3:30 PM ]

The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency flies in front of its headquarters during a board of governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

A political analyst says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s refusal to inspect Iran's military sites is a “significant development,” adding that it will "put the United States to shame" and further isolate President Donald Trump’s administration with respect to Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers.

"There is nothing surprising about this report except that the IAEA officials have apparently refused to be bullied by the US in light of recent visit to Vienna by the US ambassador to the UN, [Nikki Haley], who tried to push the IAEA to ask for inspection of Iran’s military sites and now the IAEA clearly says that there is no need for that, there is no justification,” Kaveh Afrasiabi told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

“And in addition to the report itself, we have these anonymous high officials of the IAEA putting a spin by saying that the US administration wants to go and tear up the agreement, they can do that, but they cannot manipulate the agency for that purpose,” he added.

An IAEA official said the agency was not going to inspect Iran's military sites despite US pressures to do so. The comments came after the UN nuclear watchdog once again verified Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in its latest report on Thursday.