IAEA Team Barred from Entering Key Iranian Nuclear Site
Jessica Menton | Feb 22, 2012 1:23pm EST | 2min:19sec
A delegation of inspectors from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has been barred from entering a key Iranian military site, rendering the trip to Persia somewhat of a failure. After only two days of talks, the IAEA team has departed Iran without any sort of agreement "facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues" related to Iran’s nuclear power program.
An earlier round of talks in January similarly failed to reach any kind of deal. However, the Iranian envoy to IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said more talks between Teheran and the nuclear monitors would continue in the future. IAEA is scheduled to release another report on Iran’s nuclear program later this month. Last November, the group produced an alarming reporting suggesting that Teheran had been carrying out tests “relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.”
That report not only lead to more drastic sanctions against Iran by the United States and the European Union, but has also led to fevered speculation that Israel will launch military strikes against the Islamic Republic to thwart its atomic program. Iran has long maintained that is seeks nuclear energy development for only peaceful purposes.
