Iran Complying With Deal, IAEA Still Not Satisfied

Iran Redesigning Arak Reactor to Placate West

Only a week ago the IAEA confirmed Iran was living up to all of its requirements under the extended P5+1 nuclear deal. They’re still not satisfied, and are griping about unresolved questions about Iran’s past research.

The “deadline” for Iran to answer questions to the IAEA has passed, and Iran of course answered all those questions several times. Yet the answers didn’t satisfy the IAEA, so they’re insisting it doesn’t count as a real answer.

The problem of course is that Iran was mostly asked about stuff they didn’t do, and which the IAEA never had any decent evidence they did, and so “substantial” replies beyond “we didn’t” aren’t really possible

In the meantime, Iran is redesigning the Arak Heavy Water reactor, to end Western complaints about plutonium in the waste product. The whole point of a heavy water reactor was to replace the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) as a source of medical isotopes.

The TRR was causing problems because it ran on 20 percent enriched uranium, and no one would sell Iran fuel for it. Iran made their own, which caused complaints about “high enrichment” of uranium. The Arak plant runs on unenriched uranium, but fueled complaints about its waste products. Its unlikely that any redesign is going to satisfy the West, because complaining seems to be an end unto itself.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.