Iran denounces ban on access to head of its nuclear agency at IAEA conference in Vienna

Tehran denounces a “precedent which will affect everyone”. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AIEA), Mohammad Eslami, was prevented from attending the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna (Austria), under pressure from the United States. The American Secretary of State for Energy, Chris Wright, confirmed this refusal by the United States. “We do not want sanctioned individuals to circumvent their sanctions. He requested an exemption from the sanctions and this was refused,” he explained to the press on Monday September 14.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry told AFP that Mohammad Eslami was subject to a United Nations travel ban. Vienna "requested a waiver from the relevant committee of the Security Council", but this request was "rejected due to lack of consensus", the ministry said. “Entry into the territory could therefore not be authorized due to Austria's international commitments,” the same source added.

“A totally unjustified decision”, according to Iran

According to Iranian state television, "Mohammad Eslami and his delegation took a scheduled flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked en route due to obstructions from the United States." The Iranian official therefore returned to Tehran the same day, and Iran summoned the Austrian charge d'affaires to protest against this decision. “The refusal of the Austrian government to issue visas to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision,” criticized the spokesperson for Iranian diplomacy, Esmaïl Baghaï.

“It is obvious to us that this incident occurred under American pressure, but this does not absolve the Austrian government of all responsibility,” he added. This refusal of access to the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization is a "malicious act of the American administration", commented to AFP Behrouz Kamalvandi, deputy for international legal affairs at the AEOI. This is the first time that Mohammad Eslami has been banned from accessing the headquarters of the IAEA, the UN nuclear body.