U.N. nuclear watchdog says samples taken from Iran's Parchin military site

The IAEA says it has taken samples from Iran&#039;s Parchin military site

(Image credit: Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images)

published 21 September 2015

On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that it has made "significant progress" in its investigation into past nuclear activity at Iran's Parching military complex. Samples "were taken at places of interest to the agency at the particular location in Parchin," said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, who visited the site on Sunday.

The samples were taken before he arrived, Amano said, and "the Iranian side played a part in the sample-taking process by swiping samples," but the samples — in places the IAEA had only observed by satellite before — were authenticated and "the process was carried out under our responsibility and monitoring." U.S. critics of the Iran deal have homed in on the confidential side agreement between the IAEA and Iran. Under the arrangement, Western diplomats tell Reuters, Iranian technicians physically take samples while IAEA experts observe and oversee the process.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.