Visa Crisis at IAEA 70th General Conference: Iranian Official Denied from Participation

Many ministers, officials and diplomats from member countries attended the 70th IAEA General Conference, which started at the United Nations (UN) Vienna Office.

At the opening of the conference, it was announced that Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the UN Vienna Office, was appointed as the Conference President.

Before the opening speeches of the 70th IAEA General Conference began, representatives of Iran, Russia and Austria took the floor and made statements about the refusal to grant visas to Islami and his delegation.

Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN Vienna Office, Reza Najafi, reacted to Austria's decision because Islami was not allowed to come to the country to attend the conference.

Necefi stated that it is an obligation to treat IAEA member countries equally and said, "This is definitely not a trivial administrative problem or human error, but a serious violation of our country's rights as a member of this Agency." he said.

Stating that this step is a violation of the IAEA Regulation, which guarantees all members equal rights and the opportunity to benefit from the benefits of membership, Najafi noted that this action harms Iran's right to participate in the General Conference through a representative of its own choosing.

"We demand that the host country (Austria) immediately eliminate this violation. We expect urgent measures to be taken and want guarantees that such incidents will not be repeated," Najafi said. he said.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vienna Office, Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov, also criticized Austria for not allowing Islamists to come to the country.

Ulyanov emphasized that Islami should have been present at the 70th General Conference of the IAEA, but this did not happen because the Austrian government did not fulfill its obligations.

Ambassador Ulyanov stated that Austria, as the host country, should approach IAEA member countries equally.

Austria's UN Representative in Vienna, Christian Ebner, argued that his country was determined to fulfill its host obligations "as always".

The ambassador said that the visas of the Iranian delegation were rejected due to the UN's current travel ban, and that Austria requested exemption from the relevant commission specifically for this conference, but this request was rejected on the grounds that "no agreement was reached".

"USA OBJECTED TO THIS EXEMPTION REQUEST"

Ambassador Preston Wells Griffith, the US Permanent Representative to the UN Vienna Office, acknowledged his country's role in preventing Islamists from coming to Austria.

"The United States objected to this exemption request. This resulted in the UN Security Council rejecting the request in accordance with the UN Sanctions Committee rules," Griffith said. he said.

Stating that they cannot allow Iran to attend the General Conference without being willing to engage in "meaningful cooperation" on nuclear security, Griffith said: "The participation of this official will lead Iran to use IAEA meetings as a propaganda stage and at the same time avoid concrete cooperation." made his assessment.

Griffith argued that Iran was placed on the UN sanctions list because it "enriched uranium to levels incompatible with peaceful use".

GENERAL CONFERENCE DETERMS THE IAEA'S WORK PRIORITIES

The General Conference, which brings together 182 members of the IAEA, is held annually as the Agency's main policy-making body.

The conference will discuss the Agency's activities and budget, as well as nuclear safety and security, assurance inspections, technical cooperation and the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Member countries will evaluate draft decisions on agenda items throughout the week and elect new members of the IAEA Board of Directors.

The IAEA 70th General Conference will end on 18 September.