The State Department on Friday refused to say if the Iran nuclear agreement that the Obama administration hopes to complete this month will include precise details about how the International Atomic Energy Agency will be able to inspect Iran’s facilities, or just a vague outline that has to be negotiated later.
The Obama administration has said IAEA inspections are critical to ensure the agency has a complete grasp of how Iran may have been using its nuclear program.
But on Friday, spokesman John Kirby refused to say how much would be known about what the IAEA can do, and what it can’t, under the deal. When asked by reporters the first time, Kirby said broadly that the IAEA would eventually get all the access it needs.
“The IAEA will have the access that they need to resolve their concerns about the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuke programs, past and present,” he said.
But when pressed further, Kirby refused to say how much detail there would be about IAEA access in the final deal. He said “parameters” would be all that’s needed.
“In order for there to be a deal, they have to have … provided the parameters for he access that IAEA needs,” he said.
“Parameters” implies a rough sketch of how IAEA access might be granted, but a sketch that needs to be further fleshed out. Reporters asked State if the U.S. government trusts Iran to dutifully flesh out those details once the deal is struck, since Iran has failed to meet these sorts of promises before.
And when pressed further, Kirby refused to say more specifically if firm, concrete language would be in the final deal, or just an outline.
“I’m certainly not going to talk about the issues that are still under negotiation,” he said. “I’m not prepared here on the 19th of June to tell you what the final deal is going to look like.”
The idea that the administration might sign off on a deal without firm language on IAEA inspections is just the latest sign of worry for critics who say the Obama administration is headed toward a weak deal.
On Wednesday, reporters pressed Kirby to explain Secretary of State John Kerry’s remark that the U.S. is not “fixated” on what Iran did in the past with its nuclear program.
Kirby said several times that this didn’t represent a change in policy, and that the U.S. is still insisting that Iran must disclose its past activities.
But Kirby refused to say if Iran must fully satisfy the IAEA with information about its past activities before sanctions are lifted. Instead, Kirby said these issues must be resolved before the deal is struck, but he declined to say if this is a condition for removing sanctions.
