U.N. Watchdog Decides to Close Nuclear Weapons Probe of Iran

"The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board decided on Tuesday to close its investigation into whether Iran once had a secret nuclear weapons programme, opting to support Tehran's deal with world powers rather than dwell on its past actions.

In a symbolic victory for Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors passed a resolution ending its long-running inquiry but allowing inspectors to continue to police the country's nuclear programme...

The IAEA produced a report this month that strongly suggested Iran engaged in coordinated activities aimed at developing a nuclear bomb up until 2003, though it found no credible sign of weapons-related work beyond 2009.

Despite the finding -- the clearest indication yet by the IAEA, after 12 years of investigation, that Iran was pursuing atomic bomb capability even though it denies that accusation -- the international response to the report has been muted...

'Closing the PMD agenda item will in no way preclude the IAEA from investigating if there is reason to believe Iran is pursuing any covert nuclear activities in the future, as it had in the past,' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday after the resolution was passed.

IAEA VERIFICATION

Soon after the resolution was passed, [Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Reza] Najafi said Tehran was racing to implement its side of the deal.

'We are intending to complete this process within two to three weeks, so accelerate the implementation day as soon as possible,' he said, meaning the nuclear restrictions would be in place well before a parliamentary election in February.

IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano, however, said his agency would then need weeks to verify that all the required measures, such as the removal of centrifuges that purify uranium and the reduction of Iran's enriched-uranium stockpile, had been taken.

Only once the U.N. agency's inspectors have verified that all the restrictions are in effect will international sanctions battering the Iranian economy be lifted...

Beyond the IAEA board, however, some have argued that a full examination of Iran's past violations of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations has been sacrificed for the sake of the political agreement clinched in Vienna in July.

'Iran's cooperation was certainly not sufficient to close the overall PMD file,' the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which closely tracks Iran's nuclear dossier, said in a statement..."