The head of the UN nuclear agency says Iran needs to take “concrete actions” to prove that all of its nuclear activities are peaceful.
Speaking on October 31 at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Yukiya Amano said Iran needs to clarify some of its past nuclear work and implement the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that allows snap inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Amano said the implementation of the protocol by Iran is an “essential” step for the IAEA to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities in the country.
"Iran’s nuclear material under IAEA safeguards is [for] peaceful purposes. But we cannot provide assurance that all material in Iran is for peaceful purposes," Amano said. "In order to provide that assurance, Iran needs to clarify issues related to possible military dimension and implement the additional protocol."
Amano said there is broad credible information indicating that Iran engaged in past nuclear activities with a military dimension.
The IAEA chief also said that the agency has had “limited progress” with Iran in addressing suspected nuclear weapons work.