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U.S. Seen "Moving the Goal Posts" on Iran's Past Military Nuclear Work
(Jerusalem Post) Michael Wilner - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that the world already knows the nature of Iran's past military nuclear work - and that negotiators were not "fixated" on forcing Tehran to reveal its activities. The comment was widely interpreted as a departure from past statements and a consequential U.S. concession to Iran. Patrick Clawson, Director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called the development a "clear-cut case of moving the goal posts." "It is discouraging for the USG [U.S. government] to suggest that a political process, such as the Iran-P5+1 talks, will substitute for the judgment of the IAEA," Clawson said in an e-mail. "The IAEA should be allowed to do its work without diplomats undercutting its authority. Technical issues about verification should not be decided in a political venue."