What Might the IAEA Learn?
Chen Zak Satellite photos published last week showed two sites in Iran that might house a civilian energy program and/or a nuclear weapons program. To determine exactly what purpose these sites serve would require an on-site inspection. Yet, inspections performed by international regulatory agencies are bound by certain limitations. What are the chances that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the organization responsible for verifying compliance to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), will detect clandestine nuclear activities in these two sites or elsewhere in Iran? Iran’s Status As a Signatory to the NPT When Iran signed the NPT in 1970, it agreed, as a nonnuclear weapons state (NNWS), to refrain from acquiring any nuclear weapons capabilities. Iran does have the right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful uses, including the establishment of a full nuclear fuel cycle to process fuel for nuclear power plants. Yet, because such capabilities could also be used fo
