"The Secretariat of the International Atomic Energy Agency regrets to inform with deepest sadness of the passing away of Director General Yukiya Amano," the IAEA said in a statement. The specific nature of his illness has remained a taboo subject within the agency, diplomats said, but with each public appearance he had appeared increasingly frail. Argentina's ambassador to the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, is running to succeed Amano, and diplomats say the agency's chief coordinator Cornel Feruta of Romania, effectively Amano's chief of staff, is likely to run. The lack of information around Amano's illness was also indicative of how his office dealt with sensitive information in general. Diplomats from IAEA member states often expressed frustration in private at not obtaining more confidential information from Amano and his staff on issues such as its policing of Iran's nuclear deal with major powers.

Source: bd News24 July 22, 2019 08:26 UTC