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Iran's Nuclear Deception
[Boston Globe] William H. Tobey - The International Atomic Energy Agency tells us that Iran has produced more low-enriched uranium than had previously been reported. The discovery of an additional 209 kilograms (460 pounds) of material was noted after a physical verification of Iran's inventory last November. Previous reports relied upon Iranian operating records. According to IAEA figures, the Iranian operating records had somehow undercounted total production by about a third - hardly a small error. Context is also important. Iran's Natanz facility was disclosed to the world not by a declaration to the IAEA, but by a militant group's press conference in August 2002. The IAEA, the Obama administration, and our European negotiating partners should exercise great caution in considering proposals that would depend on intricate and foolproof verification schemes. The writer was until recently deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration.