EU Urges Iran to Immediately Reconsider Barring of IAEA Inspectors

The Bushehr Nuclear Facility in southern Iran (AFP).
The Bushehr Nuclear Facility in southern Iran (AFP).
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EU Urges Iran to Immediately Reconsider Barring of IAEA Inspectors

The Bushehr Nuclear Facility in southern Iran (AFP).
The Bushehr Nuclear Facility in southern Iran (AFP).

The European Union urged Iran on Sunday to reconsider its decision to bar multiple International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors assigned to oversee Tehran's atomic activities, noting that the bloc was “highly concerned” by the move.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday that some members of their team no longer had permission to inspect Iran's nuclear arsenal.

It said Iran's “disproportionate and unprecedented” move would seriously hamper its work.

Iranian media and a Western diplomat said the decision concerned eight inspectors, all from France and Germany.

“The European Union is highly concerned by the ... decision by Iran to withdraw the official designation of several experienced IAEA inspectors to monitor and verify its nuclear programme,” the spokesman for EU foreign affairs Peter Stano said in a statement.

“Particularly worrying is the direct and severe impact of this decision on the agency's ability to conduct its verification activities, which includes the monitoring of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPoA],” he added.

“The EU urges Iran to reconsider its decision without delay.”

The objective of the 2015 agreement was to restrict Iran's nuclear activities in return for alleviating international sanctions.

However, the accord was suspended due to the unilateral withdrawal by the US under president Donald Trump's administration in 2018.



Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced he intends to visit Tehran through a letter he addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Mehr Agency reported that Grossi sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian president-elect, which stated: “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election win as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the focal attention of the international circles for many years. I am confident that, together, we will be able to make decisive progress on this crucial matter.”

“To that effect, I wish to express my readiness to travel to Iran to meet with you at the earliest convenience,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

The meeting – should it take place - will be the first for Pezeshkian, who had pledged during his election campaign to be open to the West to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.

Last week, American and Israeli officials told the Axios news site that Washington sent a secret warning to Tehran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In May, Grossi expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the talks he held over two days in Iran in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Since the death of the former Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, the IAEA chief refrained from raising the Iranian nuclear file, while European sources said that Tehran had asked to “freeze discussions” until the internal situation was arranged and a new president was elected.