<span style="color: #222222;">Former Japanese diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Yukiya Amano died at 72, the agency announced today. <br />''<br />''Amano, who had wide experience in disarmament, non-proliferation diplomacy and nuclear energy, had been chief of the key U.N. agency that regulates nuclear issues worldwide since 2009.  <br />''<br />''He was deeply involved in the years long negotiations that led to the landmark Iran nuclear deal with world powers that restricted the country's nuclear uranium enrichment. <br />''<br />''As Head of the IAEA, Amano also dealt with the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. <br />''<br />''It was not immediately clear who would succeed Amano on an interim basis. <br />''<br />''Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi expressed his condolences over Amano's death.<br />''<br />''The US unilaterally withdrew from the accord a year ago and Iran has recently inched past limits of its uranium enrichment set out in the accord.</span><br />