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U.S. Agrees to Let Iran Keep Nuke Secrets

John Kerry / AP

The Obama administration will agree to let Iran bypass questions about its past nuclear military work under any final deal signed in the coming weeks, according to reports.

Western officials were quoted as telling the Associated Press on Friday that the United States has given up a major concession to Iran on the military front.

While senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, have long insisted that Iran will immediately have to submit to wide-ranging inspections and disclosures regarding its past nuclear work, the new reports indicate that this demand has been cast aside as world powers work to strike a final deal with the Islamic Republic by the end of June.

According to the AP report:

After a November 2013 interim accord, the Obama administration said a comprehensive solution "would include resolution of questions concerning the possible military dimension of Iran's nuclear program."

But those questions won't be answered by the June 30 deadline for a final deal, officials said, echoing an assessment by the U.N. nuclear agency's top official earlier this week. Nevertheless, the officials said an accord remains possible. One senior Western official on Thursday described diplomats as "more likely to get a deal than not" over the next three weeks.