Iran: IAEA Cameras Won’t Return Until Nuclear Deal Reached

With IAEA leadership making a big deal about Iran removing cameras for which there is no monitoring agreement to operate, Iran is now warning that they will keep those cameras off until a new nuclear deal is reached.

Iranian officials say the whole point of the deal was to answer questions about the nuclear program, and they don’t seem to want to add to monitoring outside of the deal to try to satisfy the IAEA.

It’s probably not going to work anyhow. Since the IAEA monitoring deals expired, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has consistently issued fear-mongering statements on Iran, often ones that don’t stand up to casual scrutiny.

Without a deal that the IAEA has a vested interest in supporting, they’re never going to be happy. The monitoring and other deal didn’t need to be inexorably linked, but after years of talks, its clear they don’t work separately.