NEW YORK CITY, NY – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley will travel to Vienna this month to consult with the U.N.’s atomic watchdog on Iran’s compliance with the controversial Obama-era nuclear deal, Breitbart News confirmed Wednesday.
Reuters first reported that Haley will visit the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna as part of the Trump administration’s review of Iran’s compliance with the deal. A U.S. official confirmed the report to Breitbart News.
The IAEA is tasked with monitoring and verifying that Iran is in compliance with the deal, and its role has come under scrutiny over concerns that inspectors were being denied access to certain military sites.
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), David Perdue (R-GA), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in July noting that, because the IAEA did not gain physical access to certain sites, the agency “has not – and likely never will – verify the full scope of Iranian nuclear-weapons know how.”
President Trump has consistently expressed skepticism over the deal and has described it as “the worst deal ever negotiated.” The administration ruled Tehran was in compliance with the deal in July, but Trump has since said he does not believe the Islamic regime is in compliance. It is unlikely he will certify Iran’s compliance in two months’ time when it is next up for review.
The Trump administration slapped further sanctions Iran last month over its “malign activities” in the region.
Haley, too, has called on the U.N. to step up its action against Iran. In July, she blasted the Security Council for “obsessing” over Israel, while ignoring the actions of Iran and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Last week, Haley, along with three European allies, wrote to the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning the U.N. not to back down in the face of Iranian aggression after the regime launched a rocket last week that has the potential to be converted into a ballistic missile.
Saying such actions were “inconsistent” with U.N. Security Council resolutions, the letter demanded the Council insist on “full implementation” of the resolution and requested that Guterres “report fully and thoroughly on Iran’s ballistic missile and space launch activity.”
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.