Austria denied entry to Mohammad Eslami, Iran's vice president and atomic energy chief, to address the IAEA General Conference in Vienna following a U.S. request, Bloomberg reported. Eslami was scheduled to speak Monday; a lower-ranking Iranian delegate may now take his place. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to use the conference to pressure Tehran on compliance and inspections.
Austria, under pressure from the Trump administration, blocked the entry of Iranian Vice President and Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami to the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, according to a Bloomberg report published Monday. Eslami was scheduled to address the conference on Monday but Austria denied the U.N.'s request for a sanctions waiver that would have enabled his travel. A lower-ranking Iranian official may speak later in the week.
The move is part of a broader U.S. campaign to isolate Iran internationally and deny it a platform at multilateral forums. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to leverage the IAEA gathering to intensify demands for full cooperation with the agency, compliance with monitoring commitments, and unrestricted access for inspectors. The IAEA conference has historically been a venue where Iran pushes back against allegations regarding its nuclear program; Washington's intervention to block Eslami signals the Trump administration's determination to keep up maximum pressure on Tehran.
3 developments
- DevelopingIran rejects IAEA access requests, warns agency chief Grossi
- DevelopingSource: Iran refuses to meet IAEA chief Grossi at Switzerland talks
- StrongIran bars IAEA from inspecting damaged nuclear sites until special protocol agreed
- StrongIAEA Board Refers Iran to UN Security Council for First Time in 20 Years
Source and signal
- Open-source intake