VIENNA, 16 Sept. - (ANA) - ⁠The US blocked Iran's nuclear chief from ​attending this week's UN atomic watchdog meeting in Vienna by opposing an exemption from "snapback" UN sanctions embedded in the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

 

Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami had been due to attend and address this week's International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference, an annual meeting of IAEA member states, which began on Monday. ⁠At the opening, however, Iran said Austria had revoked Mr Eslami's visa after originally granting ​him ⁠one.

 

"The cancellation and so-called legal justification ‌advanced for it are a stark indication of a political act and advanced formal politicisation ​of this organisation," Iran's ambassador to the IAEA told the conference.

 

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the US had pressured Austria into the move, while Iran and Russia said it formed part of a broader effort to prevent Iranian officials from obtaining visas for international travel.

 

The US said it had objected to an exemption that would have allowed Mr Eslami to travel despite sanctions reimposed under the so-called snapback mechanism at the UN Security Council.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/16 September 2026 - -