--- ---  # Leon Panetta: Iran Deal Requires Vigilance by [Leon Panetta](https://time.com/author/leon-panetta/) ## Leon Panetta Jul 16, 2015 3:37 PM UTC  An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on Jan. 20, 2014. An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on Jan. 20, 2014.AFP/Getty Images by [Leon Panetta](https://time.com/author/leon-panetta/) ## Leon Panetta Jul 16, 2015 3:37 PM UTC The key to this deal, indeed the key to any arms control deal, is in the inspection and verification protocol. The most important question Congress will ask will be whether the inspectors can visit any site, talk to anybody, and review any document. Vigilance is the only thing that will ensure this deal is a success. Leon Panetta: Iran Deal Requires Vigilance ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3960053/leon-panetta-iran-deal-requires-vigilance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3960053/leon-panetta-iran-deal-requires-vigilance/"},"headline":"Leon Panetta: Iran Deal Requires Vigilance","datePublished":"2015-07-16T15:37:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:17:36.841Z","description":"The key to this deal, indeed the key to any arms control deal, is in the inspection and verification protocol. The most important question Congress...","url":"https://time.com/3960053/leon-panetta-iran-deal-requires-vigilance/","keywords":["Iran Forum"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41db1a18aecf14b9/69885b23f887dc5c35e9161f/iran-nuclear-inspectors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Leon Panetta","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/leon-panetta/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41db1a18aecf14b9/69885b23f887dc5c35e9161f/iran-nuclear-inspectors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on Jan. 20, 2014.","caption":"An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on Jan. 20, 2014.","creditText":"AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iran-forum/","name":"Iran Forum"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3960053/leon-panetta-iran-deal-requires-vigilance/","name":"Leon Panetta: Iran Deal Requires Vigilance"}}]}] ```