Trump on Iran's 'Multiple Violations'
In refusing to certify the Iran nuclear deal   President Donald Trump  said Iran “has committed multiple violations of the agreement.” But that’s not the finding of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
 Trump himself  has certified to Congress on two occasions that Iran has complied with the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action  or JCPOA.  The president  must issue a certification every 90 days.
On Oct. 13   Trump  announced that  he  would not once again certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA.  His  decision “gives Congress the option to introduce legislation reimposing U.S. sanctions waived or suspended under the JCPOA on an expedited schedule ” the Arms Control Association says.
 Trump  said Iran committed “multiple violations” of the JCPOA  which was negotiated by the U.S.  China  France  Germany  Russia and the United Kingdom  as well as representatives of the European Union and Iran.
Trump  Oct. 13: Iranian regime has committed multiple violations of the agreement. For example  on two separate occasions  they have exceeded the limit of 130 metric tons of heavy water. Until recently  the Iranian regime has also failed to meet our expectations in its operation of advanced centrifuges. The Iranian regime has also intimidated international inspectors into not using the full inspection authorities that the agreement calls for. Iranian officials and military leaders have repeatedly claimed they will not allow inspectors onto military sites  even though the international community suspects some of those sites were part of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program.
Let’s take a look at each of the three issues Trump raised  beginning with the limits on heavy water.
On two occasions  Iran has slightly exceeded the limits. The first time was in February 2016  a month after the agreement was implemented  and again in November. So  Trump  is right  although  he  was aware of these violations when  he  agreed twice before to certify Iran’s compliance.
As for Trump’s concern about advanced centrifuges  David Albright  an IAEA weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security  said that issue has been resolved.
Trump’s reference to inspections at military sites refers to Section T of the JCPOA that covers the development of dual-use equipment that has civilian and military applications  according to Albright  an adviser to the Trump administration. Albright said the IAEA needs access to military sites in order to verify Iran’s compliance with Section T of the agreement.
“This is the most egregious of Trump’s claims ” Davenport  of the Arms Control Association  told us. “The IAEA clearly stated that Iran has granted inspectors all of the access the agency has requested. If Iran had blocked access  the P5+1  including the United States  would not have been able to say that Iran is complying with the accord.”
In a statement issued in response to Trump’s speech  IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said that “the IAEA has had access to all locations it needed to visit.”
We take no position on Trump’s desire to renegotiate aspects of the Iran deal that he does not like. The issue  though  is whether Iran has complied with the existing agreement  and even those within his own administration have said that Iran is in compliance.
Correction  Oct. 14: We originally wrote that  Trump  was referring to the Parchin military site when  he  criticized Iran for not allowing IAEA inspections of military sites. Albright  an adviser to the president  told us that  Trump  was referring to inspections at all military sites  not just Parchin  to ensure that Iran is in compliance with Section T of the JCPOA. That section covers the development of dual-use equipment that can be used for civilian and military purposes. The revised version of this story reflects that change.
In refusing to certify the Iran nuclear deal   [TGT]said Iran “has committed multiple violations of the agreement.” But that’s not the finding of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
 [TGT]has certified to Congress on two occasions that Iran has complied with the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action  or JCPOA.  [TGT]must issue a certification every 90 days.
On Oct. 13   [TGT]  announced that  [TGT]  would not once again certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA.  [TGT]  decision “gives Congress the option to introduce legislation reimposing U.S. sanctions waived or suspended under the JCPOA on an expedited schedule ” the Arms Control Association says.
 [TGT]said Iran committed “multiple violations” of the JCPOA  which was negotiated by the U.S.  China  France  Germany  Russia and the United Kingdom  as well as representatives of the European Union and Iran.
[TGT]Oct. 13: Iranian regime has committed multiple violations of the agreement. For example  on two separate occasions  they have exceeded the limit of 130 metric tons of heavy water. Until recently  the Iranian regime has also failed to meet our expectations in its operation of advanced centrifuges. The Iranian regime has also intimidated international inspectors into not using the full inspection authorities that the agreement calls for. Iranian officials and military leaders have repeatedly claimed they will not allow inspectors onto military sites  even though the international community suspects some of those sites were part of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program.
Let’s take a look at each of the three issues [TGT] raised  beginning with the limits on heavy water.
On two occasions  Iran has slightly exceeded the limits. The first time was in February 2016  a month after the agreement was implemented  and again in November. So  [TGT]is right  although  [TGT]  was aware of these violations when  [TGT]  agreed twice before to certify Iran’s compliance.
As for Trump’s concern about advanced centrifuges  David Albright  an IAEA weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security  said that issue has been resolved.
Trump’s reference to inspections at military sites refers to Section T of the JCPOA that covers the development of dual-use equipment that has civilian and military applications  according to Albright  an adviser to the [TGT] administration. Albright said the IAEA needs access to military sites in order to verify Iran’s compliance with Section T of the agreement.
“This is the most egregious of Trump’s claims ” Davenport  of the Arms Control Association  told us. “The IAEA clearly stated that Iran has granted inspectors all of the access the agency has requested. If Iran had blocked access  the P5+1  including the United States  would not have been able to say that Iran is complying with the accord.”
In a statement issued in response to Trump’s speech  IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said that “the IAEA has had access to all locations it needed to visit.”
We take no position on [TGT] desire to renegotiate aspects of the Iran deal that [TGT] does not like. The issue  though  is whether Iran has complied with the existing agreement  and even those within [TGT] own administration have said that Iran is in compliance.
Correction  Oct. 14: We originally wrote that  [TGT]was referring to the Parchin military site when  [TGT]  criticized Iran for not allowing IAEA inspections of military sites. Albright  an adviser to the president  told us that  [TGT]was referring to inspections at all military sites  not just Parchin  to ensure that Iran is in compliance with Section T of the JCPOA. That section covers the development of dual-use equipment that can be used for civilian and military purposes. The revised version of this story reflects that change.