An exclusive Associated Press report has revealed a secret side deal to the Iran nuclear agreement, signed last July 14, under which the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has permitted Iran to use its own inspectors to deliver findings on alleged prior military developments for explosive nuclear triggers at the contested military site of Parchin.

Shockingly, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, told Iranian lawmakers: “In a letter to Yukimo Amano we underlined that if the secrets of the agreement [roadmap between Iran and the IAEA] are revealed we will lose our trust in the agency; and despite the US Congress’s pressures, he [Amano] didn’t give any information to them [Congress]. Had he done so, he himself would have been harmed.” This was reported by Fars, Iran’s semi-official news agency and published in articles inTimes of Israel (Aug. 18, Tamar Pileggi) and Freebeacon.com, (Adam Kredo, Aug. 18.)

This makes clear that Iranians are willing and able to intimidate the IAEA, the inspection watchdog, which undermines the verification regime that Obama/Kerry claimed was a critical and key component of the nuclear deal. Additionally troubling is that any nuclear inspector, Iran reported, will have to be screened and approved by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry before being permitted to even enter Iran.

ZOA president Morton Klein asked, “What happened to the Obama/Kerry promise that this will be the most intrusive inspections regime in history, and that we don’t have to trust Iran – we will constantly 24/7 verify? What happened Obama’s promise of transparency? This is beginning to sound more like a deal with the Mafia than with a sovereign country.”

Iran for years had barred IAEA inspectors access to Parchin and other known sites under the pretext that it would violate the Islamic regime’s national security.

The revelation about Parchin is significant also because U.S. intelligence recently revealed, following the signing of the nuclear agreement, Iran was engaged in “sanitizing” the Parchin site, removing evidence of clandestine nuclear activities.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein added, “We have had one farce after another with regard to this nuclear agreement, all of which would be hilarious were the subject not so tragically serious:

• Massive sanctions relief and unfreezing of assets to the world’s leading and unreformed sponsor of terror;
• Relabeling non-nuclear sanctions as nuclear-related, so they might be lifted;
• The White House privately reassuring foreign governments that they will not be penalized for doing business with Iran, even if Iran violates the nuclear deal; 
• Permitting Iran to provide its own soil samples for international determination of whether Iran has been engaging in clandestine nuclear activity.

“And now, allowing Iranian inspectors to be the ones who determine whether or not Iran is engaged in clandestine nuclear activity.

“It is becoming increasingly apparent that President Obama is not committed to stopping Iran developing nuclear weapons, despite his past proclamations that he will do ‘everything, everything’ to stop Iran from doing so.

“As painful as it is to say, the evidence makes increasingly clear that President Obama is comfortable with Iran developing nuclear weapons.”

This article was published by ZOA and may be found here.