Former IAEA Official: Iran Should Not Be Exempted from Military Base Inspections

‘They still seem to be at odds over the same issues’

O’DONNELL: “Negotiations for an Iranian nuclear deal could blow the second deadline in a week. Secretary of State John Kerry is making a final push to deliver President Obama's biggest foreign policy goal: that negotiators appear deadlocked as today’s deadline looms. Margaret Brennan is in Vienna with what's at stake if the talks fail. Margaret, good morning.”

BRENNAN: “Good morning. Well, negotiators worked through night and they are still at it here in Vienna as the U.S. and world powers faced off against Iran -- but they still seemed to be at odds over the same issues that have tripped them up since the talks began.”

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BRENNAN (voice-over): “Secretary Kerry brought the world powers together for the first time in three months. Their central goal still elusive: convincing Iran to give broad access to suspect nuclear sites, including military installations.”

ROCKWOOD: "Access is really important."

BRENNAN (voice-over): “Laura Rockwood wrote the access rules for inspectors during her time at the UN nuclear watchdog known as the IAEA.”

ROCKWOOD: "The IAEA should have access to military bases. They have access in other countries, at least 10 other countries -- there's no exemption, no automatic exemption for access to a military location."

BRENNAN (voice-over): “Limited access to these sites will make it difficult to prove whether or not Iran is complying with the deal. Inside the IAEA in Vienna, new technology is being designed to make cheating harder. Encrypted, real-time cameras [are] immune to hacking, 3-D laser sensors that register movement of equipment, and highly sensitive radiation detectors. U.S. officials also want to monitor what isn't visible, by questioning Iran's nuclear scientists about how much they know. But Tehran is reluctant to let them talk, because at least five top scientists were mysteriously killed after their identities were revealed. Former arms control negotiator Tarik Raouf says just because the U.S. demands it, doesn't mean Iran will comply.

RAOUF: "Even in a country like Iran, scientists have human rights, so you can't torture them to speak if they don't want to speak."

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BRENNAN: “Secretary Kerry really wants to get a deal to Congress this week. They fear stretching out to diplomacy will only give skeptics more time to skewer it. But it’s not clear if we can get all of this done in just a few hours that remain.”

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