Energy secretary says U.S. won’t budge on access to Iran military sites


Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz discusses Iran’s nuclear program and the impending deadline for a deal on Friday’s PBS NewsHour. Watch an excerpt of the interview.

The United States needs to have verification, including access to suspicious sites, in any nuclear deal with Iran, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told PBS NewsHour co-anchor Gwen Ifill in an interview airing on Friday’s broadcast.

“A good deal requires that we have complete confidence in shutting off all their pathways to a bomb — that includes addressing the covert pathways,” he said.

Countries involved in negotiating with Iran on its nuclear program have a June 30 deadline to come up with a deal.

The international partners have agreed on “tough sanctions” on Iran, which shows they lack confidence that the Islamic Republic is pursuing a purely civilian nuclear energy program, said Moniz.

“The way I look at this agreement is it will be a chance over a long period of time for Iran to demonstrate that it, certainly going forward, its intentions will be entirely peaceful,” he said.

For the full interview, you can watch our Ustream channel at 6 p.m. ET Friday or check your local listings.