Iran-IAEA side deals
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The Iran-IAEA side deals are confidential agreements between Iran and the IAEA regarding IAEA verification of Iranian nuclear activities for the Iran nuclear deal. Their existence was first publicly disclosed by Senators Tom Cotton and Mike Pompeo on July 21, 2015.[1] They have repeatedly been a flashpoint during the debate over whether or not the U.S. Congress should approve the Iran deal.
Debate over secrecy[edit]
In their initial announcement, Cotton and Pompeo described the side deals as "secret side deals" between Iran and the IAEA. The Obama Administration counterattacked, saying that the existence of the deals was not a secret, but the IAEA always has a duty of confidentiality. The contents of the side deals have not been publicly disclosed. IAEA director general Yukia Amano testified to the Senate that he was satisfied with the agreed verification procedures but could not publicly disclose their contents. Several Senators were not satisfied with this. Republican Bob Corker described it as "not reassuring". Corker was particularly frustrated that Amano would not confirm whether or not the IAEA would have access to Iran's facility at Parchin, where it is thought to have done past nuclear work. Ben Cardin took a different tone, saying he understood the reasons for confidentiality, but that it would be helpful to see at least key portions of the agreements. Chris Murphy, who supports the Iran deal, described the debate over the side deals as a "red herring created by people who were never going to support this agreement in the first place." Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association argued that the Congressional demand for access to the deals was "unrealistic." Lead US negotiator Wendy Sherman said she had seen drafts of the side deals but had not seen the final version. She offered to brief Congress in a classified session.[2][3][4][5][6]
Conflict between US law and IAEA policy[edit]
The US law on congressional review of the Iran deal requires that Congress be given access to all related agreements, but IAEA policy is that its agreements are confidential. On July 30, 2015, John Kerry said that “I don’t know even at this point what the law says about the United States requiring something which another entity’s laws prohibit,” Ted Cruz introduced a Senate resolution saying that because the side deals remained secret, Congress' 60-day review period had not even begun. Kerry said he had been "briefed" on the contents of the side deals, but would not say by whom, leading Cotton and Pompeo to ask if the briefings had come from Iranian officials.[7]
Parchin soil samples[edit]
A July 28, 2015 report from the Associated Press indicated that Iran would be allowed to conduct its own soil sampling at Parchin, where it is suspected of working on ways to detonate a nuclear weapon. Iran says that Parchin is a conventional military site and no nuclear work has been done there. Press reports in early August said the US intelligence community believed Iran had brought bulldozers and other heavy equipment to Parchin and appeared to be cleaning up the site.[8][9][10]
Release of draft[edit]
On August 20, 2015, the AP released a draft of the side deal, which it said had come from two anonymous sources.[11] Former IAEA official Tariq Rauf argued that a textual analysus of the document suggested that it was not authentic. Among other things, he pointed to the use of the phrase "Islamic State of Iran", which is incorrect, as Iran always refers to itself as the "Islamic Republic of Iran".[12] Writing in National Review, former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz looked at the language agreed with Rauf that the documents were unlikely to be IAEA documents. However, Fleitz argued that the documents likely were authentic, but were written by a third party—not Iran or the IAEA. He argued that it was unlikely that AP reporter George Jahn had been deceived by two officials.[13]
References[edit]
- ↑ Demirjian, Karoun. "'Secret deals' become latest congressional complaint about Iran deal".
- ↑ Foster, Peter. "Iran 'side deals' fuel opposition to nuclear deal in Congress".
- ↑ Mathes, Michael. "IAEA chief fails to reassure US senators on Iran deal".
- ↑ Everett, Burgess. "Iranian side deals spark lingering bipartisan concern".
- ↑ Jordan Fabian and Kristina Wong. "White House launches Iran side deals counterattack".
- ↑ Schulberg, Jessica. "John Kerry's Confident The IAEA Can Handle Iran, But Congress Isn't Buying It".
- ↑ Gehrke, Joel. "GOP Lawmakers: Did Iran Brief Administration Officials on Secret Side Deals?".
- ↑ Jahn, George. "Officials: Iran may take own samples at alleged nuclear site".
- ↑ Anthony, Jerome. "Iran 'sanitising Parchin site' as Obama warns of Middle East war if Congress rejects nuclear deal".
- ↑ Jim Sciutto and Deirdre Walsh. "Iran attempting to clean up suspected nuclear site at Parchin".
- ↑ "Text of draft agreement between IAEA, Iran".
- ↑ Schulberg, Jessica. "Former Nuclear Safeguards Official Says AP's Iran Deal Document Looks Fake".
- ↑ Fleitz, Fred. "The Plot Thickens: Iran-Deal Backers Claim AP Side Deal Document Is a Forgery".
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