Post by bot on Dec 3, 2015 21:02:29 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on IAEA Report on Iran’s Nuclear Program
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) released the following statement today on the IAEA report issued yesterday regarding Iran's nuclear program:
“Yesterday’s IAEA report on Iran’s military program confirms what we’ve known for years – that, in spite of its leaders’ stonewalling, dissembling, and deception, Iran indeed pursued a secret nuclear weapons program at least through 2003 and conducted weapons development activities after that point, even as late as 2009. Its program was inconsistent with peaceful use of nuclear technology, as had been claimed by Iran’s regime in the past.
“Unfortunately, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) does not explicitly require that the information Iran provides be complete or accurate on its past military activities, and this report makes clear that the information they provided was certainly incomplete and probably inaccurate. Moving forward, in the context of Iran’s other requirements under the JCPOA, such non-responses or omissions should be treated as violations requiring snap-back of sanctions. We cannot allow Iran to test the will of the international community without a serious and unequivocal response. For this reason, the P5+1 nations must continue to enforce every aspect of the JCPOA vigorously in order to ensure that Iran’s leaders cannot exploit any ambiguities or commit potential violations.
“I will be examining closely the technical aspects of the IAEA’s conclusions, and at this point it is not clear to me from this report that the IAEA can say definitively that it fully understands the history and scope of Iran’s nuclear program. The full story of Iran’s nuclear program has yet to come out, and we must continue to press for a complete and thorough disclosure as we move to enforce the JCPOA to the full letter and spirit of the agreement.”