Haley takes US "concerns" on Iran to the nuclear police – CBS News
VIENNA -- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley arrived at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday to increase the Trump administration's understanding of Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal reached under President Obama, but also to try and ratchet up pressure on Iran after its recent ballistic missile tests.
Haley met IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, and was also to meet some of the technical experts who monitor nuclear activities, including those in Iran governed by the nuclear pact signed by the U.S., a handful of its allies, Russia and Iran.
In a statement released after her meeting with Amano, the U.S. United Nations delegation said Haley had stressed U.S. "concerns about ensuring Iran strictly adheres to its obligations." One of her primary missions -- not just in Vienna but back at U.N. Headquarters -- is to persuade the international community that Iran is not adhering to those obligations, and to ensure that it does.
Play Video
Despite signing a sanctions measure, President Trump called the legislation "significantly flawed." Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, spoke with CBS N...
The trip comes as the Trump administration's war of words with Iran is ramping up. Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, issued an ominous warning on Tuesday that his country could, "if we make the determination resume 20 percent-enrichment in, at most five days." Under the terms of the nuclear deal, Iran is banned from enriching uranium to that level, which can make it useable in nuclear weapons.
For now, Haley is focused on trying, along with Western partners, to make what President Trump has called the "worst deal," better, by pressing Iran to stop test launching ballistic missiles.
The U.S. has imposed new sanctions under Mr. Trump, pointing at the missile launches, Iran's human rights record and its support of terrorism abroad, but the 2015 nuclear deal -- officially the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- does not explicitly deal with any of those issues.
The issue is the interpretation of the nuclear agreement, and whether launching ballistic missiles is, in fact, a violation of it.
In an August 2nd letter sent to Italian Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi (who chairs the Iran sanctions committee) and to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Haley argued on behalf of France, Germany the U.K, and the U.S. that Iran had taken actions inconsistent with the nuclear deal by launching a Simorgh space launch vehicle that has the capacity to carry a nuclear weapon.
Play Video
Iran is pushing back against new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. Its top diplomat, Javad Zarif, says Mr. Trump is trying to underm...
The U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 2231) on the nuclear pact calls on Iran, "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology."
In the letter she penned, Haley argued that, "Iran's longstanding program to develop ballistic missiles continues to be inconsistent with UNSCR 2231," and she called for the issue to be taken up at the Security Council.
While all four Western powers that signed onto that letter are in agreement that Iran's ballistic missile tests are a violation of the U.N. resolution, neither the U.K., France, nor Germany have followed the U.S. lead to impose new sanctions.
Asked about the letter, Italy's Cardi told CBS News that this week that he is consulting the other members of the committee to put together a unified response.
After the most recent launch by Iran, Haley laid down the gauntlet: "We will continue to impose consequences until Iran stops its provocations and complies fully with Security Council resolutions."
The issue that Haley confronts is that the IAEA is not mandated to deal with missile tests, and in its seven reports on Iran's adherence to the deal thus far the agency says Iran has completed the steps required under the JCPOA and the U.N. Resolution.
Play Video
Just one day after certifying Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, the United States is placing new economic sanctions on the Islamic re...
U.S. law requires the White House to certify Iran's compliance with the deal every 90 days, which Mr. Trump, despite his professed reluctance, did for a second time in July in spite of pleas from several senators.
Haley's trip will have implications for the next round of certifications of the nuclear deal, by both the U.S. and the IAEA, in October. There have been, experts point out, a few technical breaches in by Iran of the terms of the nuclear deal, but the June report appeared to show that those had been corrected.
While Mr. Trump continues to lambast the deal, Haley continues to try and garner support in the international community for the position that Iran is violating more than just the spirit, but the letter of the deal by testing nuclear-capable missiles.
Gary Sick, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute who served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan, tells CBS News that the Western parties to the JCPOA are in agreement: "The other parties, together with the U.S., are anxious to put as much pressure on Iran as possible to at least modify or reduce its ballistic missile tests."
He says that is, at least in part, why Haley came to IAEA headquarters on Wednesday, and he agrees it necessary to keep the pressure on.
Despite the tough talk by Tehran and Washington, however, Sick doesn't think the deal is likely to be scuttled by the Trump administration.
He says the ambiguity on Iran's missile testing -- the ambiguity causing the U.S. angst and the current war of words -- was deliberately designed into the nuclear deal.
"It was a very specific set of words; an agreement to disagree," he says. "We knew that this was going to happen. It was written into the agreement that way."
Iran believes Mr. Trump wants to kill the agreement and has threatened to exit it as well. Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a series of tweets that Mr. Trump, "always wanted to kill JCPOA. To avoid isolation, he's trying to blame it on Iran."
Haley insists that is not the case. She told The Washington Post in an interview published on Tuesday that the Trump administration had made "no decision" yet on its policy regarding the nuclear deal.
The statement released by her office on Wednesday said Haley and Amano had discussed "the importance of preventing Iran from exploiting ambiguous language in the nuclear agreement."
But, "whatever the flaws of the existing nuclear deal, Trump will find that criticizing it is far, far easier than crafting an effective replacement to it," says Matthew C. Waxman, faculty chair of the program on Law and National Security at Columbia Law School.
As Gary Sick put it, more bluntly, if Mr. Trump choses to "destroy the JCPOA in the name of preventing missile tests," he could "end up in a situation where Iran actually is free to go ahead and build a nuclear weapon."
Read more:
Haley takes US "concerns" on Iran to the nuclear police - CBS News
- U.S. negotiating position on Iran in flux as talks continue - The Washington Post - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Trump wants Iran deal but will be "leading the pack" for war without one - Axios - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran's nuclear program return to secluded Oman - AP News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Congratulations to Paraguay for Confronting Iran and its Proxies - U.S. Department of State (.gov) - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- 'Waste That St': In Interview With Free Beacon, Fetterman Tells Trump To Dump Iran Talks and Destroy Tehran's Nuclear Facilities - freebeacon.com - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Iran rejects demand from US to rely on imported uranium - The Guardian - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Israel said to fear US moving fast toward bad deal that wont block Iran from nukes - The Times of Israel - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Iran fortifying buried nuclear sites as talks with US continue, report says - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Iran, France signal readiness for nuclear talks amid US negotiations - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Rubio says Iran must give up nuclear enrichment in any deal with the US - AP News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- The US, Iran and the bomb - Al Jazeera - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- What do 'expert level' talks signal for the progress of Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations? - NBC News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Act of negotiating with Iran is 'problematic,' rocket scientist says - Fox Business - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- What do expert level talks signal for the progress of the Iran-US nuclear negotiations? - AP News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- U.S. Offers Iran Civilian Nuclear Program in Possible Compromise With Tehran - WSJ - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- As Iran fortifies nuke sites, US says it can have civilian nuclear program if no enrichment - The Times of Israel - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Iran weighs pace of nuclear talks with US, unsure if to push for deal with Trump - analysis - The Jerusalem Post - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Iran's FM Araghchi to head to Oman for nuclear talks with US - The New Arab - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- UN watchdog asks Iran to clarify tunnels but upbeat on deal - France 24 - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Trump: Willing to meet Leader Khamenei as Iran talks advance - Shafaq News - - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Rubio says war with Iran would be much messier than what people are used to seeing - The Hill - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- After blows to proxies, Iran advances huge space program with Russian assistance - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Everything you need to know about Iran-US nuclear negotiations - Al Jazeera - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Source close to White House: US-Iran talks expected to collapse - www.israelhayom.com - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran-US talks over Tehrans nuclear program hinge on a billionaire and a seasoned diplomat - AP News - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran, US task experts with framework for a nuclear deal after 'progress' in talks - Reuters - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- US and Iran say talks over Tehrans nuclear program make progress and set plans for more - AP News - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Trump cant afford to simply revive Obamas Iran nuclear deal - Atlantic Council - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- What to know about the tensions between Iran and the US before their second round of talks - AP News - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- In Iran Talks, Trump Is Edging Toward Reviving an Old Deal - The New York Times - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran, US report progress in nuclear talks, confirm third round next week - Al Jazeera - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran Says Talks With U.S. to Continue After Positive Meeting - WSJ - WSJ - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran says nuclear deal is possible if Washington is realistic - Reuters - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- After Rome talks, Tehran says Iran and US to start designing framework for nuclear deal - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Trump Is About to Learn That Iran Is a Problem Without a Solution - Foreign Policy - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Hopes for Iran nuclear talks tempered by threats and mixed messages - BBC - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- With his promises of peace unmet in Gaza and Ukraine, Trump may find Iran just as tough - Reuters - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Second round of US-Iran nuclear talks end, third round set for next week - France 24 - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- U.S., Iran officials project progress in second round of nuclear talks - The Washington Post - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran offered US a nuclear agreement with same enrichment cap as 2015 deal report - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- As Iran talks resume, White House fends off bombing hawks - The Washington Post - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Trump says he is in no rush to attack Iran over nuclear program - Reuters - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- US-Iran: future stability of Middle East hangs on success of nuclear deal but initial signs are not good - The Conversation - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Omans sultan to meet Putin in Moscow after Iran-US nuclear talks mediated by Muscat - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Israel said to still eye limited attack on Iran nuclear sites despite Trump waving off plan - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Netanyahu: We will not surrender to Hamas, Iran won't have a nuclear weapon - The Jerusalem Post - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- US and Iran agree to another round of talks to end nuclear stand-off - Financial Times - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Mossad chief, Dermer meet US envoy Witkoff in Paris ahead of US-Iran nuclear talks - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran and US move to expert-level talks after 'good meeting' in Rome - Middle East Eye - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- April 19: US official: Very good progress made in Iran talks; well meet again next week - The Times of Israel - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Iran confirms that the 2nd round of nuclear talks with the US will be in Rome - AP News - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran's Khamenei sends letter to Putin ahead of talks with US - Reuters - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Saudi defence minister arrives in Tehran ahead of Iran-US talks - Reuters - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran Says Despite Shifting U.S. Messages, It Plans to Keep Participating in Nuclear Talks - The New York Times - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Opinion | Its a Mistake to Think the Biggest Problem With Iran Is Nuclear Weapons - The New York Times - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Mike Pompeo: We Dont Need a Fake Deal with Iran - The Free Press - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Ahead of 2nd round of nuclear negotiations, U.S. and Iran harden positions - PBS - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- US, Iran Set for Second Round of Nuclear Talks as Iranian FM Warns Against Unrealistic Demands - Algemeiner.com - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump team's Iran divide: Dialogue vs. detonation to end nuclear threat - Axios - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran says its right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable - Reuters - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran confirms next round of nuclear talks with US set for Rome on Saturday - Al Jazeera - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Oil posts weekly gain on trade deal hopes, new Iran sanctions - Reuters - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump Warns Iran: A Nuclear Iran Will Never Bring Happiness to Its People - kurdistan24.net - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Scoop: Trump holds situation room meeting on Iran nuclear deal negotiations - Axios - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Why Iran Doesnt Need the Bomb - The National Interest - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran's folded rocks: The crumpled mountains at the intersection of Asia and Europe - Live Science - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- IAEA chief on Tehran visit: Iran, US dont have much time to reach nuclear deal - The Times of Israel - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump Gives Conflicting Signals and Mixed Messages on Iran Nuclear Talks - The New York Times - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump holds Situation Room meeting on Iran, officials say - Reuters - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump warns Iran it can thrive and be a great country without death - Cleveland.com - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Another US aircraft carrier in Mideast waters ahead of second round of Iran-US nuclear talks - AP News - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump blocked Israeli-proposed joint attack on Iran to pursue nuclear deal report - The Times of Israel - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- If US and Iran Clash, This Remote Base Could Be First To Fight - Newsweek - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Trump Trashed the Iran Nuclear Deal. Will His Be Any Better? - The New York Times - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran wants to drag out talks, Trump wants a deal now. Neither is good for Israel - The Times of Israel - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Rubio blames Iran for JCPOA collapse, overlooks U.S. withdrawal from the deal - Tehran Times - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran seeks Russia's support for its nuclear talks with US - theheraldreview.com - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran believes it can reach nuclear agreement with US, wants Russia to play role - The Times of Israel - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Iran wants guarantees Trump will not quit a new nuclear pact, official says - The Times of Israel - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- US-Iran talks to be held in Rome following confusion over location - Euronews.com - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]