The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog blasted Iran on Monday for its intransigence during talks designed to reduce opacity around the country’s atomic program. His evaluation of the progress of negotiations was unsparing:

Yukiya Amano also said his agency’s talks with Iran on unblocking an IAEA inquiry into possible nuclear arms research by Tehran had been “going around in circles” for some time. Amano was airing unusually blunt criticism that reflected the mounting tension over Iran’s disputed nuclear energy program that has increased fears of a new Middle East war… Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, vented growing frustration at the lack of results in getting Iran to address international concerns…. “To be frank, for some time now we have been going around in circles,” Amano, a veteran Japanese diplomat, said.

The IAEA has especially been seeking access to Iran’s military facility at Parchin, where Western intelligence agencies and U.N. officials believe that Tehran has conducted work relevant to the development of nuclear warheads. Iran has denied the agency access to the facility to such an extent that IAEA officials have been forced to resign over deadlocked talks. Amano today warned that being granted access now might be meaningless, after Iran spent years sanitizing the site:

But Amano acknowledged for the first time that “extensive activities” by Iran – including removal of soil and asphalting – now meant inspectors may return empty-handed even if Iran were to allow them to visit. Iran says Parchin is a conventional military site and has dismissed the cleansing allegations. “It may no longer be possible to find anything,” he said, adding, however, that the IAEA still wanted to go to Parchin.

Amano’s statements will reinforce concerns – a long voiced by  U.S., E.U, and U.N. diplomats, Israeli officials, the IAEA, top U.S. military officials, and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal – that Tehran is dragging its feet during talks in order to buy time to pursue nuclear weapons.

Hopes that the upcoming June 14th election would produce a relatively moderate new president – or at least see Iran soften its negotiating posture – also appear to have fallen short. In addition to purging the candidate list until the remaining candidates were all ones who were vying to emphasize a hard-line stance on nuclear negotiations, the regime has also launched a campaign to censor online dissent surrounding the election.

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