TEHRAN(Bazaar) –Shireen Tahmaasb Hunter, a professor of political science at Georgetown University, tells the IAEA is trying to buy time so that if in the future political conditions improve, a deal with Iran can be struck.
She says: “The agency may also want to use this opportunity to find out whether Iran has engaged in any new nuclear activities.”
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: The International Atomic Energy Agency team is going to travel to Iran with the aim of dealing with the remaining safeguards issues. What is your assessment of this trip?
A: I believe that the agency is trying to buy time so that if in the future political conditions improve, a deal with Iran can be struck. The agency may also want to use this opportunity to find out whether Iran has engaged in any new nuclear activities.
Q: Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami has said that we hope that we can make effective progress with the agency team in order to remove the obstacles and ambiguities and that a step forward will be taken. What is your assessment of Eslami's words?
A: The issues surrounding the alleged past Iranian efforts to develop a nuclear weapon capability are not new. Until now Iran has not been able to provide the IAEA satisfactory answers, it is unlikely that it would be able to do so now. I believe that until Iran's problems with the West are not resolved, the agency will keep this issue alive as a lever of influence on Iran.
Q: A European diplomat told Al-Monitor reporter that this trip is good in principle, but Westerners do not expect any progress from it. If we evaluate this comment correctly, what does the sending of this team by the agency mean?
A: It appears that at the moment Western states, especially the US, are waiting to see whether recent protests and agitations in Iran would either force the government to make significant concessions or would end in its collapse. Therefore, I am not very optimistic about prospects of any substantial progress on the nuclear issue.
Q: What is your assessment of the future of the negotiations and how probable do you consider the start of the negotiations at the moment?
A: At the moment, the political atmosphere in Washington is against any negotiations with Iran. In fact, many former politicians, notably Hilary Clinton, are saying that the US should talk about reviving the JCPOA and should impose even more pressures on Iran. Instead, the US and European states are waiting to see the outcome of recent protests in Iran and are hoping that recent events could lead to fundamental changes in Iran's government.
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