Iran, Israel\u2019s Channel 12 announced, had just abandoned its landmark nuclear deal with world powers and will start kicking out inspectors immediately. Hushed confusion spread through the hall as participants among the few hundred — mostly current and former officials from countries including France, the U.S. and Russia — pulled out their phones in search of confirmation and elaboration.<\/span><\/p>\n It took about 25 minutes for everyone to understand that it was fake news, which the panelists already knew.<\/span><\/p>\n Organizers of the Tel Aviv forum, which was co-sponsored by the U.S. embassy and Lockheed Martin<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, said it was meant to be an entertaining thought exercise — the graphics and presenter were real, but he spoke in English, not Hebrew, which should have given the game away.<\/span><\/p>\n But nobody at the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, the body charged with verifying the Iranian accord, is laughing.<\/span><\/p>\n Late Wednesday, at a private reception for diplomats, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano lashed out at efforts to hamstring an organization that\u2019s been at the forefront of nuclear security for decades, according to two foreign officials who were there. Without naming Israel and the U.S., the career Japanese diplomat made it clear those countries were the source of his ire, they said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe agency\u2019s independence must not be undermined,\u201d Amano said, according to the IAEA\u2019s website. \u201cIf attempts are made to micro-manage or put pressure on the agency in nuclear verification, that is counterproductive and extremely harmful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Three years into an agreement that was meant to be a hallmark of the Obama administration, in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, IAEA inspectors say Tehran is in full compliance.<\/span><\/p>\n That hasn\u2019t stopped the Trump administration from backing out of the agreement, piling on new penalties and trying to use the agency to turn the screws<\/a><\/strong><\/span> with help from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/span><\/p>\n Enriched uranium has remained below thresholds agreed under deal.<\/span><\/p>\n President Donald Trump\u2019s hardline stance on Iran has heightened tensions with the other signatories to the agreement: China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. It\u2019s also sowed divisions between the White House and America\u2019s spy agencies, with Trump castigating his own intelligence officials this week for being \u201cpassive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Netanyahu went to the U.S. Congress to lobby against the agreement before it was signed and has continued to criticize the deal since, arguing that it won\u2019t prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, Netanyahu called a press conference to announce Israeli agents had stolen scores of documents from a warehouse in Tehran that he claimed proved Iran lied about previous attempt to develop a bomb. Iran has denied the allegation and resisted re-opening a 12-year IAEA investigation into its past activities.<\/span><\/p>\n The fake newscast in Israel came as Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister was in Vienna for talks with the IAEA, which is trying to keep the accord from unraveling.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s leadership has said the country\u2019s ready to re-start its enrichment program using more advanced technology if the agreement fails. The country is considering making the kind of nuclear fuel used in naval propulsion, implying it could enrich uranium closer to the levels needed for weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the European Union is moving to help countries evade the sanctions that the Trump administration imposed to stop countries from trading with Iran.<\/span><\/p>\nNot Impressed<\/h3>\n
Iran Abides Nuclear Limits<\/h3>\n
![\"Iran](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2002\/10\/Iran-abides-by-nuclear-limits.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nUnfortunate Timing<\/h3>\n