Iranian Nuclear Verification ‘Beyond Reach’ of US Intelligence

© AP Photo / Ronald ZakFormer EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, left, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, third left, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, rear center, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, second right, wait for the start of closed-door nuclear talks with Iran.
Former EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, left, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, third left, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, rear center, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, second right, wait for the start of closed-door nuclear talks with Iran. - Sputnik International
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Former CIA and NSA Director Major General Michael Hayden commented on the Iran nuclear talks, saying that US intelligence agencies were limited in their capabilities to accurately assess the Iranian nuclear program.

The latest talks on Iran's controversial nuclear program have seen little progress, as there are still a lot of disagreements on the issue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Segei Ryabkov has announced. - Sputnik International
Russian Deputy FM Says Major Disagreements Remain in Iran Nuclear Talks
WASHINGTON, January 21 (Sputnik) — Verifying Iranian compliance with a nuclear agreement to halt the development of nuclear weapons goes beyond the abilities of US intelligence agencies, and depends on the active role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), former CIA and NSA Director Major General Michael Hayden said at a Middle East conference on Tuesday.

“With regard to verification of an [Iranian nuclear] agreement, do not depend on American intelligence to do that,” General Hayden said, adding that the verification of Iranian nuclear facilities “will be beyond the reach of American intelligence.”

US intelligence agencies are limited in their capabilities to accurately assess the Iranian nuclear program in ways that the UN’s IAEA is not, the former intelligence chief commented.

“You need an invasive inspection regime from the IAEA,” Hayden stated, which is premised on the institutional knowledge within the United Nation’s agency of the “accurate history” of Iran’s nuclear program. The other condition, that can be uniquely met by the IAEA is the ability to inspect any Iranian nuclear installation, Hayden said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, former EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi - Sputnik International
New Round of Iran Nuclear Talks to Take Place in February

A reliable verification regime in the wake of a possible Iranian nuclear deal, currently under negotiation by the P5+1 talks must also be based on “the ability of the IAEA to go where they choose, quickly even if it’s an IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] installation,” the former intelligence chief noted.

An essential element of the P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Iran is an accurate verification regime, that accounts for Iranian nuclear installations and ensures their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, according to IAEA statements.

Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany will restart diplomatic negotiations with Iran next month to address international nuclear proliferation concerns.

The parties involved in the Iranian nuclear negotiations agreed to extend talks through March 2015 after a previous round of negotiations reached their deadline in November 2014.

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