London- US Ambassador the United Nations Nikki Haley on Wednesday arrived at the UN’s atomic watchdog offices in Vienna, to receive a briefing as to whether the agency is willing to inspect Iranian military sites as a part of the Iran nuclear deal.
Haley’s visit came after Tehran defiantly test-fired ballistic missiles.
Before Haley landing in Vienna, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano that the US ambassador’s visit violated the nuclear agreement.
“Even before the visit takes place, the way it is planned and publicized and the signal that it sends has notable detrimental consequences for the successful implementation of the JCPOA,” Zarif wrote in a letter to Amano, the Post reported.
Haley had closed-door meetings with Amano, at which IAEA international observers, including experts monitoring Iran's implementation of the terms of the Vienna nuclear agreement signed between Iran and the international group of six attended.
In a statement released after her meeting with Amano, Haley stressed US "concerns about ensuring Iran strictly adheres to its obligations."
One of her primary missions -- not just in Vienna but back at UN Headquarters -- is to persuade the international community that Iran is not adhering to those obligations, and to ensure that it does.
CBS News wrote that, for now, Haley is focused on trying, along with Western partners, to make what President Trump has called the "worst deal," better, by pressing Iran to stop test launching ballistic missiles. Haley also pushed against Tehran’s violation of the UN resolution 2231.
The UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 2231) on the nuclear pact calls on Iran, "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology."
In the letter she penned, Haley argued that "Iran's longstanding program to develop ballistic missiles continues to be inconsistent with UNSCR 2231," and she called for the issue to be taken up at the Security Council.
