The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has said the nuclear submarine deal with Australia could set an example for other countries and would create a new race for nuclear weapons and legal complications.
Under the Acos agreement, the United States and Britain will assist Australia in building nuclear submarines.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has said that he has sent a special team to review the legal aspects of the Acos Treaty and its safety.
If the agreement is implemented, Australia will be the first country in the world to build a nuclear submarine without a nuclear weapon. The agreement would also call into question the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The IAEA will ensure that the materials used to build nuclear submarines are not used to make nuclear weapons.
"We have to make deals to ensure that whatever they get in terms of technology or materials is safe."
"There is no denying that other countries can build their own nuclear submarines under the auspices of the Acos Treaty," he said.
Canada and South Korea also want to build nuclear submarines that can stay underwater more quietly than others. Brazil is also working on a nuclear submarine project.
Raphael Grossi said that in 2018, Iran had informed the IAEA that it wanted to start work on a "nuclear propulsion program."
During meetings at the UN General Assembly last month, Iranian officials talked about building nuclear submarines based on the ACCO agreement.
