Iran defends decision to withdraw IAEA nuclear facilities inspectors

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Sep 2023 22:02

The IAEA chief claims the inspectors in question are among the agency's most experienced staff.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on September 11, 2023 (AFP)

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani defended his country's decision to withdraw the designation of IAEA inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the NPT Safeguards Agreement, accusing the US, UK, Germany, and France of politicizing the IAEA's Board of Governors.

According to Kanaani, Iran's decision comes in line with the governance powers granted to Iran in Article 9 of the text of an agreement between Tehran and the IAEA for the NPT Safeguards Agreement.

Earlier, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi had confirmed that Iran has decided to recall several Agency experts involved in inspections of nuclear facilities in the country under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

"Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran (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," Grossi said in a statement.

"This follows a previous recent withdrawal of the designation of another experienced Agency inspector for Iran."

IAEA Director General’s statement on verification in Iran. https://t.co/MdZyoiUmCp pic.twitter.com/SiiKlKn2Wo
— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) September 16, 2023

In defense of the decision, Kanaani noted that Iran has already warned about the implications of "political misuses", including attempts to politicize the UN nuclear watchdog's atmosphere.

He went on to say that Iran expects Western countries to stop exploiting international organizations, including the IAEA, and to enable these organizations to undertake professional and impartial operations free of political influences.

According to the IAEA chief, the inspectors in question are among the Agency's most experienced staff, and "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."

"This measure, 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," Grossi claimed.

The director general of the UN nuclear watchdog said he "strongly" condemned the move, "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."

However, the Iranian spokesperson stressed that "despite Iran's positive, constructive and continuous interaction with the agency, the three European countries and the United States abused the (IAEA's) Board of Governors for their own political purposes."

"Of course, Iran will continue its positive cooperation within the framework of the agreements that have been made, and emphasize the necessity of the agency's neutrality," Kanaani told state media in response to Grossi's statement.

Reuters cited a diplomat in Vienna as saying that Iran has de-designated all French and German members of the IAEA inspection team, adding that there were already no members from the United States or the United Kingdom.

This comes shortly after Grossi said on Monday he was concerned that the international community was losing interest in holding Iran to account over its advancing nuclear program.

Last week, the IAEA said in confidential reports seen by AFP that Iran had made "no progress" on several outstanding nuclear issues.

These include reinstalling IAEA monitoring cameras Tehran had removed from its nuclear sites, or explaining the alleged presence of uranium particles found in Iran.

In June, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations stressed there is no undeclared nuclear material in the country, adding that the IAEA relied on "fabricated information" provided by "Israel".

Grossi said he had noticed a "decrease in interest" from IAEA member states, without naming them.

Diplomatic sources say the United States and the so-called E3 group -- France, Germany, and the United Kingdom -- have no plan this week to censure Iran for its alleged lack of cooperation with the IAEA.

Instead, at the behest of Washington, they will submit a joint declaration to the IAEA board meeting, which is expected to gain broad support, a source told AFP.

In 2015, major world powers reached a deal with Iran, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), under which Tehran would reduce its nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling unlawful sanctions.

But the accord began to fall apart in 2018 when then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it and began reimposing sanctions, and Iran retaliated by dropping some of its obligations under the agreement. Efforts to revive the deal have been fruitless so far with European-led talks on hold since 2022.

Iran has repeatedly denied any ambition to develop a nuclear weapons capability, affirming that its activities are entirely peaceful.

It is noteworthy that a couple of days ago, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian affirmed that Iran is prepared to engage in negotiations regarding the draft agreement for the JCPOA.