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Iran Protests Vienna Entry Denial for Nuclear Chief Ahead of IAEA Meeting
(MENAFN) Iran has formally protested Austria’s decision to deny entry to Mohammad Eslami, the country’s nuclear chief, preventing him from attending the annual conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry submitted an official note to the Austrian government objecting to the absence of the entry authorization required for Eslami, who also serves as vice president and heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Eslami and members of his delegation had traveled toward Vienna on a regular flight Saturday but were stopped at Istanbul Airport after it became clear that he did not have the necessary authorization to enter Austria. He subsequently returned to Tehran later that day.
Iranian reports said the authorization was blocked because of “obstruction” by the United States and another regional country, although the second country was not identified. The reports also suggested that the decision may have been connected to the reactivation of the UN “snapback” sanctions mechanism established under the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
Two other AEOI officials, Behrouz Kamalvandi and Mohammad Reza Kardani, were able to travel to Vienna because their names were not included on the UN sanctions list.
Iranian political and nuclear officials have previously received authorization to participate in meetings at the IAEA headquarters. Eslami himself attended the agency’s annual conference last year, making his exclusion from this year’s gathering a notable departure from previous participation.
Because Eslami was unable to attend the conference as planned, Iran’s scheduled address to the gathering was postponed until Tuesday afternoon.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry submitted an official note to the Austrian government objecting to the absence of the entry authorization required for Eslami, who also serves as vice president and heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Eslami and members of his delegation had traveled toward Vienna on a regular flight Saturday but were stopped at Istanbul Airport after it became clear that he did not have the necessary authorization to enter Austria. He subsequently returned to Tehran later that day.
Iranian reports said the authorization was blocked because of “obstruction” by the United States and another regional country, although the second country was not identified. The reports also suggested that the decision may have been connected to the reactivation of the UN “snapback” sanctions mechanism established under the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
Two other AEOI officials, Behrouz Kamalvandi and Mohammad Reza Kardani, were able to travel to Vienna because their names were not included on the UN sanctions list.
Iranian political and nuclear officials have previously received authorization to participate in meetings at the IAEA headquarters. Eslami himself attended the agency’s annual conference last year, making his exclusion from this year’s gathering a notable departure from previous participation.
Because Eslami was unable to attend the conference as planned, Iran’s scheduled address to the gathering was postponed until Tuesday afternoon.
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