Vienna – The U.N.’s atomic agency tasked with monitoring Iranian compliance with last month’s nuclear deal says the work will cost about 9.2 million euros each year, with the final tab amounting to nearly 140 million euros over the life of the pact, according to a confidential document obtained by The Associated Press.
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The document, drawn up for a special Tuesday meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says the costs are calculated from the time the deal begins to be implemented. That will be some time after it is adopted Oct 18.
The IAEA document extrapolates the total cost of monitoring the deal — 138 million euros ($157 million) — by saying the estimated annual costs of 9.2 million euros ($10.47 million) “are foreseen as being applicable for 15 years.” That is the planned duration of the deal signed by Iran and six world powers aimed at crimping activities Tehran could use to make a nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief.
Tuesday’s meeting is designed to ask the IAEA’s 35-member board to approve both the agency’s monitoring role and to ask for the funds needed to carry out that activity.
Enough countries are expected to contribute to meet the IAEA request. A diplomat from a board member country said Monday that the United States, France, Britain and Germany — the four Western powers among the six that negotiated the Iran deal — already have committed to meeting at least some of the costs, along with others, including Japan, Finland, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand. He demanded anonymity because he is not allowed to discuss confidential information.
Russia and China, the other two nations at the table with Iran, also are expected to shoulder part of the extra expenditures.