United Nations scientists barred from nuclear compounds as Tehran reacts to latest round of sanctions

By Ian Black, Middle East editor

Source:

21 June, 2010

has banned two UN inspectors from visiting its nuclear facilities because it claims they filed false information on the country’s controversial nuclear programme – a move seen as retaliation for the imposition of new sanctions.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s atomic energy agency, said the unnamed inspectors had prematurely published a report he described as “untruthful”, according to reports in state media today.

Iran has the right to ban UN personnel under the country’s “safeguards agreement” with the International Atomic Energy Agency and has done so in the past. Salehi also stressed Iran’s commitment to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which governs nuclear issues.

Yet observers and diplomats said there was no doubt the decision reflected anger over the sanctions imposed by the UN security council and that more retaliatory action was likely. Tehran has called UN resolution 1929 illegal and threatened action to protect its interests.

Iran had complained to the UN about a report issued at the end of last month, which said Tehran was preparing extra equipment to enrich uranium to higher levels and that it had stockpiled nuclear material. The IAEA report also showed that Iran was continuing with higher-level enrichment, failing to answer questions about possible military dimensions to its nuclear work, and failing to address concerns about undisclosed activities.

The ban will not pose a practical problem since the IAEA has more than 200 inspectors, some were involved in an average of 25 inspections a year in Iran. But repeated refusals could trigger a crisis.

IAEA press officer, Greg Webb, said: “The International Atomic Energy Agency can confirm that on 10 June 2010 it received a letter from Iran objecting to the designation of two IAEA safeguards inspectors.

“The IAEA has full confidence in the professionalism and impartiality of the inspectors concerned. The Agency confirms that its report on the implementation of safeguards in Iran, issued on 31 May 2010, is fully accurate.

“The IAEA will continue to monitor the situation carefully and keep Member States informed as appropriate.”

The latest UN sanctions, the fourth round since 2006, were agreed by the security council on 9 June because Iran has refused to suspend uranium enrichment.

The US and its allies fear Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb but Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. The EU has also imposed its own sanctions.

Iran told the IAEA in January that it had carried out pyroprocessing experiments, prompting a request from the agency for more information – but backtracked in March and denied conducting such activities.

Last month, IAEA experts revisited the site – the Jaber Ibn Hayan multipurpose research laboratory in Tehran – only to find the electrochemical cell had been “removed” from the unit used in the experiments, according to the report.

Iran said it did not remove equipment from the laboratory and that the experiment was not related to pyroprocessing, a procedure that can be used to purify uranium used in nuclear warheads.

Relations between Iran and the IAEA have become more strained since the Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano took over as head of the agency in December. Amano has taken a tougher approach than his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei.