Everything about this terrible Iran deal hinges on the fact that inspectors can verify that Iran is following the terms of the deal. And this morning, Obama is making it sound like inspectors can do just that, saying they will have 24/7 access to Iran’s nuclear facilities who will go where and when necessary to verify Iran is in compliance.
But Obama isn’t telling the whole truth. It turns out that if the Iranians have any reservations about inspections (and you know they will), it turns into this arbitration mess that lasts for 24 days before any inspector can set foot into the facility they want to inspect:
Here’s the quote on the arbitration committee from Haaretz:
According to the agreement, UN inspectors will be able to enter any suspect facility in Iran within a maximum period of 24 days. Iran will be able to present reservations to the IAEA’s requests to visit suspicious facilities. In such cases, a special arbitration committee will be established to make a decision. The committee will include representatives of the six world powers, Iran and the European Union. Iran will be in the minority, with only Russia and China holding positions close to Tehran’s.
The arbitration committee will convene within two weeks after Iran presents its reservations, and will have to discuss the issue and make a decision within seven days. If the committee decides in a vote to reject the Iranian reservations, Iran will have three days to arrange the inspectors’ visit to the suspicious facility. The inspectors who would be allowed access to the nuclear facilities and the suspicious sites in Iran will come only from states with which Iran has diplomatic relations. U.S. inspectors will not be allowed to enter the facilities.
Two weeks of arbitration plus seven days to make a decision plus three days for Iran to arrange access to their facilities gives Iran 24 days, almost an entire month to hide whatever they are doing that they don’t want the inspectors to see.
Why don’t we just give Iran and a nuclear weapon and get it over with, because this deal certainly isn’t going to prevent Iran from doing whatever they want with respect to their nuclear program.