ABSTRACT
While intelligence reports were being manufactured and war drums beaten, the imposition of UN sanctions against Iran was becoming more and more a reality. On August 31, 2006 the IAEA issued its report on Iran’s compliance with UN Resolution 1696.1 The six-page report summarized its findings by stating that “Iran has been providing the Agency with access to nuclear material and facilities, and has provided the required reports.” Yet, the report went on to say, “Iran has not addressed the long outstanding verification issues or provided the necessary transparency to remove uncertainties associated with some of its activities.” Moreover, “Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities; nor has Iran acted in accordance with the provisions of the Additional Protocol.” Lastly, the report noted that the “Agency will continue to pursue its investigation of all remaining outstanding issues relevant to Iran’s nuclear activities. However, the Agency remains unable to make further progress in its efforts to verify the correctness and completeness of Iran’s declarations with a view to confirming the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.”
