Will President Donald Trump certify the Iran nuclear deal made under former President Barack Obama? That may not happen now since U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has accused Russia of protecting Iran from nuclear inspections that are crucial to the deal. From Fox News:
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley indicated Thursday that Russia was shielding Iran by blocking the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from verifying part of the deal. The IAEA initially revealed the news to a reporter in a Q&A. Meanwhile, under a requirement from Congress, Trump must choose whether to certify the deal by October 15.Yukiya Amano, the IAEA Director General, told Reuters that his agency’s “tools are limited,” regarding verification of section T in the nuclear deal.Section T of the Iran nuclear deal, which is also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), prohibits activities related to “design and development” of a nuclear weapon.
Russian officials claimed that the UN does not have any authority “to police” section T of the nuclear deal. From RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty:
That section, known as section T, bans “activities which could contribute to the development of a nuclear explosive device.” It lists examples such as using computer models that simulate a nuclear bomb, or designing multi-point, explosive detonation systems.Unlike many other parts of the deal, section T makes no mention of the IAEA and does not specify how compliance with the section will be verified.
Haley is not the only diplomat who feels this way. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have sided with Haley’s interpretation of the deal.
Haley stated that without these inspections, “the Iran deal is an empty promise.”
Former IAEA advisor David Albright, the founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, suggested to Fox News that Iran denying the inspections could cause problems:
“Amano basically said that the IAEA is not implementing the verification of section T and is unsure how to proceed. He wants guidance from the Joint Commission. However, Russia has said it does not want the IAEA to verify section T. If it sticks to that position in the Joint Commission and blocks instructions to the IAEA to proceed with verifying Section T, and the IAEA does not act on its own to verify Section T or find a work around, then the verification of the JCPOA is incomplete and the deal is not fully implemented,” he said.“Full implementation is a requirement for the President to certify under INARA (Corker-Cardin). Lack of verification of Section T would also demonstrate that the deal does not deliver like promised and promoted by deal supporters,” Albright told Fox News.
Middle East expert Omri Ceren also told Fox News that if IAEA cannot inspect or verify this portion of the deal, then Trump’s answer is easy:
“There’s no wiggle room here. The law requires the president to tell Congress yes or no, do we know if Iran has ‘fully implemented’ the deal? The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog just said they don’t know if Iran has implemented the section of the deal about nuclear weapons’ work, because Iran won’t let them into military bases where that work is likely to occur. Advocates of the Iran deal are saying the president should certify anyway. They’re asking him to lie to Congress on behalf of the deal,” Ceren said.
Trump has reluctantly re-certified the Iran deal twice before. He said on September 20 that he has reached a decision, but did not say if he picked yes or no.
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