Remind me again why we have to keep relying on the United Nations for all of this?

Part of the widely criticized deal that Barack Obama struck with Iran over their nuclear weapons program stipulates that inspections need to be performed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). That’s normal, of course, because that organization has traditionally performed such duties. They were the ones who kept track of Saddam Hussein’s warehouse full of yellowcake for years prior to the United States putting the matter to rest permanently. Unfortunately, when our U.N. Ambassador recently asked for additional inspections of Iranian military facilities to ensure they’re not dealing from the bottom of the deck, they declined. Apparently they don’t want to turn it into a political issue. (Reuters)

The United States is pushing U.N. nuclear inspectors to check military sites in Iran to verify it is not breaching its nuclear deal with world powers. But for this to happen, inspectors must believe such checks are necessary and so far they do not, officials say. Last week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley visited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is scrutinizing compliance with the 2015 agreement, as part of a review of the pact by the administration of President Donald Trump. He has called it “the worst deal ever negotiated”. After her talks with officials of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Haley said: “There are… numerous undeclared sites that have not been inspected. That is a problem.” Iran dismissed her demands as “merely a dream”.

Among the many Iranian military installations under scrutiny, Nikki Haley was particularly interested in Parchin, located a few dozen miles outside of Tehran. The fact that the IAEA is acting as if this is some sort of crazy idea is in itself rather insane. Why would we want them inspecting Parchin? Because Iran has long been suspected of conducting forbidden work on their nuclear program there. And the IAEA has actually gone inside to inspect Parchin before. Back in 2015 they made a visit there which was roundly derided as being ineffective because the only way the Iranians agreed to let them in was if they could collect the samples themselves. (CNN)

The examination of Parchin is part of an inquiry by the International Atomic Energy Agency into Iran’s past nuclear activity. It is separate from inspections of other sites agreed to under July’s deal between Iran and six world powers, which are more focused on ongoing work. Iranians were involved in collecting some of the samples from the sensitive military site, IAEA director general of Yukiya Amano said. Earlier, a top Iranian official said that IAEA inspectors had not taken part in the sampling procedure at Parchin. Iranian technicians took the samples and handed them to the IAEA, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behruz Kamalvandi was quoted in Iranian state media as saying.

Yes, this is the extent of the work that the IAEA has put into inspecting the facilities at Parchin. They’ve allowed the Iranians to basically conduct their own sample collections. What could possibly go wrong?

Perhaps it’s time for the United Nations to be a little more accountable. Let’s start with the tens of millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets that their deadbeat diplomats owe to New York. Perhaps we should just foreclose on them. After all, the U.N. seems a lot more interested in the welfare of Europe than that of America (or Israel for that matter) so maybe they’d feel more at home in Sweden or someplace similar. And when you come to think about it, Turtle Bay would probably make a completely awesome casino and resort with a few renovations.