Tight IAEA Inspection Regime Hampers Iran's Nuclear Breakout
IAEA Deputy Director Herman Nackaerts says his agency would know "within a week" if Iran tried to divert uranium for higher enrichment.
![A general view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, south of Tehran. A general view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, 250 km (150 miles) south of Tehran, March 30, 2005. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami Khatami took a group of journalists deep underground on Wednesday into the heart of the nuclear plant which Washington wants dismantled and whose existence was kept secret until 2002. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi RH/CN - RTR6JAI](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/07/1-RTR6JAI.jpg/1-RTR6JAI.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=MFv0oYfR)
As Iran prepares to inaugurate a new president, those suspicious of Iran’s nuclear intentions have warned that Hassan Rouhani will be merely a smarter version of his predecessor and drag out negotiations while the country secretly builds a bomb.
However, Iran’s ability to break out or sneak out of its non-proliferation obligations is hampered by an inspection regime that keeps extremely close track of Iranian uranium enrichment facilities.