IAEA chief Yukiya Amano passes away
Former Japanese diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Yukiya Amano died at 72, the agency announced today.
Amano, who had wide experience in disarmament, non-proliferation diplomacy and nuclear energy, had been chief of the key U.N. agency that regulates nuclear issues worldwide since 2009. He was deeply involved in the years long negotiations that led to the landmark Iran nuclear deal with world powers that restricted the country’s nuclear uranium enrichment.
As Head of the IAEA, Amano also dealt with the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. It was not immediately clear who would succeed Amano on an interim basis.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi expressed his condolences over Amano’s death. The US unilaterally withdrew from the accord a year ago and Iran has recently inched past limits of its uranium enrichment set out in the accord.
