Francois Murphy. Parisa Hafezi. John Irish

VIENNA, Reuters – On Wednesday the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog came to an agreement with Iran regarding replacing its surveillance cameras in a Karaj centrifuge-parts workshop. This ends a longstanding standoff which could have scuppered further nuclear negotiations.

Those wider, indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are deadlocked, but Washington had threatened https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-threatens-escalation-with-iran-iaea-next-month-2021-11-25 to confront Tehran at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors if it did not relent on Karaj this month.

Diplomats claimed that such a confrontation might have resulted in the dissolution of the talks.

After diplomats informed Reuters that an agreement was reached, the IAEA stated in a statement: “The agreement with Iran regarding the replacement of surveillance cameras at Karaj facility”

It will “enable us to continue necessary continuity of information at this facility,” said the IAEA, adding that new cameras would soon be installed.

An apparent sabotage attack by Israel resulted in one of the four IAEA camera’s at the workshop within the TESA Karj complex being destroyed. Iran blamed Israel for the destruction. Iran then removed the cameras and has not let the IAEA return to replace them, angering https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-threatens-escalation-with-iran-iaea-next-month-2021-11-25 the United States and its allies.

Iran showed the IAEA all cameras and data storage media containing footage of theirs, with the exception of the footage from the damaged camera. IAEA, Western countries and other powers called Iran to clarify whereabouts.

As the Western countries become more concerned about Iran’s secretly siphoning off parts to make centrifuges (machines that enrich uranium), the larger their knowledge gaps will be.

Senior diplomats stated last month that the IAEA doesn’t know if Karaj is functional.