“Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran informed me of its decision to withdraw the designation of several experienced Agency inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the NPT Safeguards Agreement”, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday responded to the nuclear watchdog and said that the licenses of several experienced IAEA inspectors were withdrawn due to “excessive demands” by the UK, France, Germany, and the United States with the “aim of destroying cooperation between Iran and the IAEA” and misusing the watchdog “for their own political purposes.”
Grossi said that Tehran’s decision downsizes the agency’s core inspectors designated for Iran by one-third.
“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.
“This measure, while formally permitted … 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,” Grossi said, labeling the move as another blow to the nuclear watchdog’s “already strained” relationship with Tehran.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that Tehran expects Western countries to refrain from misusing international organizations such as the IAEA “and allow these bodies to conduct their professional and impartial activities without political pressures.”
Under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to curb its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for much-needed relief from crippling sanctions.
But the deal began unravelling in 2018, when Washington, under former US president Donald Trump’s administration, unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed biting sanctions on the Islamic republic, who in turn began stepping up its nuclear enrichment efforts.
Tehran, however, has repeatedly denied that it seeks to develop an atomic bomb, saying that such a move goes against the Islamic republic’s doctrine.
Efforts to revive the deal have stalled, with the current US administration under President Joe Biden labeling the deal as “dead.”
