fortunately, we have yukiya amano at the helm. so, mr.director-general, we look forward to hearing your mark. [applause] >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. i am very pleased to be here today at brookings. this institution has a well-deserved reputation for the excellence of its research and the high caliber of its experts. for more than a century, you have made a major contribution to public policy, both within the united states and internationally. it is a special pleasure to see bob einhorn, a distinguished veteran of arms control and non-proliferation, with whom i have worked for many years. i have been asked to talk about the challenges of nuclear verification and, in particular, about the role of the iaea with regard to iran's nuclear program. before talking about what the agency is and does, let me tell you what we are not. we are not a political actor. we are not an international nuclear police force. we do not take sides. the iaea is an independent technical organization within the u.n. family. one of our core activities is to