Tehran has informed the UN nuclear watchdog that it has withdrawn the designation of several agency nuclear experts assigned to inspect enrichment activities in Iran, a move “strongly condemned” by the organization’s chief.
“These inspectors are among the most experienced agency experts with unique knowledge in enrichment technology,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement on September 16.
“They have conducted essential verification work at the enrichment facilities in Iran which are under agency safeguards,” he added.
Grossi said that “with today’s decision, Iran has effectively removed about one-third of the core group of the agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran.”
He added that Tehran’s move, "while formally permitted by the NPT Safeguards Agreement, has been exercised by Iran in a manner that affects in a direct and severe way the ability of the IAEA to conduct effectively its inspections in Iran."
Iran complained later that the United States and the so-called E3 -- Britain, France, and Germany -- had politicized the IAEA board for their own interests, but said it would nevertheless continue to cooperate with the nuclear watchdog.
"Unfortunately, despite Iran's positive, constructive, and continuous interaction of the with the agency, the three European countries and the United States abused the [IAEA's] Board of Governors for their own political purposes," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.
No reason for the move against the inspectors was immediately given.
Reuters quoted a Vienna-based diplomat as saying Iran had withdrawn the designation of all the German and French inspectors. There already were no U.S. or British inspectors on the team.
Earlier this year, Tehran had vowed to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog to resolve outstanding issues after inspections -- under the international Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) -- reportedly showed that Tehran had enriched uranium to near nuclear-weapons grade.
Grossi, speaking to reporters in Vienna on March 4 following a two-day visit to Tehran, said a new agreement included the reinstallation of monitoring equipment and would allow access to experts for an investigation into uranium traces at three undeclared sites.
On September 13, more than 60 countries demanded that Iran immediately answer questions about its nuclear program in a statement read by a Danish diplomat at the IAEA board meeting in Vienna.
The statement demanded that Tehran disclose the current location of nuclear materials from former secret facilities and sought clarification on other ambiguities about Iran's uranium stockpile.
A day later, the United States and its three European allies threatened Tehran with another UN resolution, although they didn't specify when or if they would actually do so."
Grossi said Tehran’s latest move was an overreaction to those outside demands.
“I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the agency and Iran,” he said.
“Without effective cooperation, confidence and trust will continue to be elusive and the agency will not be in a position to discharge effectively its verification mandate in Iran and provide credible assurances that nuclear material and activities in Iran are for peaceful purposes.”
He called on Tehran to “reconsider its decision and to return to a path of cooperation with the agency.”
Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes.