A draft document exclusively obtained by Fox News supports reports that Iran would play a major role in inspections at its controversial Parchin nuclear site, by providing U.N. inspectors with crucial materials.
The so-called side deal, labeled "Separate arrangement II," says Iran will "provide to the [International Atomic Energy Agency]" photos and videos of locations and environmental samples, "taking into account military concerns."
Details of the arrangement were first reported by the Associated Press.
The agreement also provides that the agency would ensure the "technical authenticity" of activities -- in other words, ensuring nuclear work was not meant for weapons development -- but the IAEA would use Iran's "authenticated equipment."
This would be followed by a visit from the IAEA director general.
The details of the agreement for Parchin, where Iran has long been suspected of trying to build nuclear weapons, have fueled concerns from critics.
"The agreement looks like Iran calls the shots, vetoing technical inspections when they want, where they want at the Parchin military site," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said in a statement.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News the side agreement is a "joke" and threatened to withhold millions of taxpayer dollars "until I get to look at this side deal."
The IAEA, though, has called the original AP report -- which also suggested Iran would be able to self-police inspection of the Parchin site and use its own experts -- a misrepresentation.
"I am disturbed by statements suggesting that the IAEA has given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement.
A senior Obama administration official also told Fox News, "There is no 'self-inspection' of Iranian facilities, and the IAEA has in no way given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. Not now and certainly not in the future."
The official called the IAEA-Iran arrangements "technically sound and consistent with the agency's long-established practice."
