WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — The limitations on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) access to Iran’s military facilities is the most worrying aspect of the new nuclear agreement, former Director of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden told Sputnik on Tuesday.
“It is the most concerning part of the agreement to my mind. Managed access is not anywhere-anytime,” Hayden said.
Hayden added the issue of managed access to Iranian military facilities is “the most important aspect of the agreement about which I have concerns.”
According to the text of the deal, UN inspectors will be able to petition the Iranian leadership for access to its military sites.
Hayden argued that the process of negotiating for access moves verification duties “to the political level, rather than the technical level.”
The deal’s verification process is “ripe with opportunities to, if not prevent, at least dramatically slow inspections,” he noted.
On Tuesday morning, the P5+1 group of countries — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany — reached an agreement with Iran on the parameters of its nuclear program after nearly two years of negotiations.
The final deal was struck after more than two weeks of continuous talks and multiple extensions of self-imposed deadlines.
