Iran 'denied access' to nuclear inspectors : IAEA chief

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iran has repeatedly blocked investigators from visiting some of its nuclear sites, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday.

“I note with serious concern that, for over four months, Iran has denied us access to two locations and that, for almost a year, it has not engaged in substantive discussions to clarify our questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The agency, tasked with overseeing Iran’s compliance with agreements to limit its nuclear program, said that while Iran is partially cooperating with nuclear inspectors, its continued refusal to grant access to two facilities “is adversely affecting the Agency’s ability to resolve the questions and to provide credible assurance of the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities,” Grossi told a meeting of the IAEA’s board on Monday. 

“I call on Iran to cooperate immediately and fully with the Agency, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by us,” said Grossi.

Iran’s continued pursuit of a nuclear energy program further imperils the landmark deal reached in 2015, titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Since the US withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and declared it would pursue a campaign of “maximum pressure” against the Iranian government, the country’s economy has plummeted, sending inflation soaring, and severely impacting ordinary Iranians.

Negotiated between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, the multilateral accord eased long-standing sanctions on the US adversary in exchange for limited allowances to produce nuclear energy, with strict guidelines to ensure it would not exploit the opportunity to produce nuclear weapons.

After US withdrawal from the deal, Iran initially said it would abide by its commitments and work through its European partners to keep vital diplomatic and economic channels open. 

Then, months later, in January, Iran announced that it would resume its nuclear programme in full force and would no longer be “subject to any restrictions in the operational sphere,” while continuing to cooperate with international inspectors.

According to IAEA’s report released in March, Iran has nearly tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium, and refused to answer questions about three additional undeclared sites suspected to possibly be storing nuclear material.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran agreed to limit the purity of its enriched uranium to 3.67 percent. Gharib Abadi said Iran is now enriching uranium at up to 4.5 percent. 

The purity level needed for uranium to be ready for weapons-grade use would need to be around 80-90 percent, according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Iran also slightly surpassed an agreed limit on its storage of heavy water, a substance used in nuclear reactors. According to IAEA’s report, Iran was found to be storing 132.7 tons of heavy water, exceeding the cap of 130 tons.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to Vienna-based international organizations, said the IAEA’s most recent report proves continuation of the agency’s verification activities in Iran. Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on June 5, he contended that the fact that the IAEA was able to observe the limit breach is proof that it is cooperating with inspectors, since they were able to measure the breaches.

Gharibabadi called for a return to the JCPOA agreements and condemned the United States efforts to sabotage efforts at diplomatic cooperation.

"Such actions should be condemned because they have a negative impact on humanity and the whole world," Gharibabadi said according to Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Continued US pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program comes at a time when the country is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the value of Iran’s currency sinking by about 70% against the dollar, the prices of imported medicines have soared. Washington has insisted that its wide-ranging sanctions on Iran does not include the medical imports the country depends so heavily upon, but around a dozen patients, pharmacists, and carers who spoke to Rudaw English from inside Iran say the sanctions are impacting their medical bills. Some said they have seen the cost of the medicine they need increase threefold in the last year.

Iran’s oil revenue dropped to $8 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, due to mounting US sanctions, Iran’s Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said Saturday.

In late March, the US extended waivers allowing foreign companies to continue working at Iranian nuclear facilities, but said that it would “continue to closely monitor all developments in Iran's nuclear programme” and could reconsider the concession “at any time.”

“Iran’s continued expansion of nuclear activities is unacceptable. The regime’s nuclear extortion is among the greatest threats to international peace and security,” the State Department said in a statement released March 30.

Additional reporting by Fazel Hawramy