Cameras Turned Off, More Measures Likely

TEHRAN -- Iran on Wednesday disconnected two of the UN atomic agency’s cameras monitoring its nuclear sites, officials said, after Western nations issued a political resolution against the Islamic Republic.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the disconnected cameras had been operating as a “goodwill gesture”, outside its safeguard agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“As of today, the relevant authorities have been instructed to cut off the On-Line Enrichment Monitor and the flow meter cameras of the agency,” the AEOI said in a statement.
It added that Iran’s agreement to allow the cameras to run was not “appreciated” by the UN agency but considered an “obligation”.
The statement said “more than 80 percent of the agency’s existing cameras are operating according to the safeguard agreement and will continue to operate just as before”.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Iranian agency, had “monitored the shutdown of two IAEA cameras at a nuclear facility,” the statement added.
“Other measures are being considered and we hope that they will come to their senses and respond to Iran’s cooperation with cooperation,” he told national TV.
Iran reached a deal with the U.S., the Europeans as well as China and Russia in 2015 to limit its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief -- but the agreement has been on life support since president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from it in 2018.
Tehran has backed away from some of its own commitments since 2019 in response to the U.S. breach of the agreement and the Europeans’ failure to fulfill their own commitments under the agreement.
In a joint statement to the IAEA on Tuesday, Britain, France and Germany had said they “strongly urge Iran to stop escalating its nuclear program and to urgently conclude (the) deal that is on the table”.
Iran’s nuclear organization chief

Muhammad Eslami said earlier Wednesday that “Iran has no hidden or undocumented nuclear activities or undisclosed sites,” official news agency IRNA reported.

“These fake documents seek to maintain maximum pressure” on Iran, he added, referring to the draconian economic sanctions reimposed by Washington under Trump.

“This recent move by three European countries and the U.S. by presenting a draft resolution against Iran is a political one,” Eslami said, adding Iran had maintained “maximum cooperation” with the IAEA.

The trigger for the latest Western move was a report issued by the IAEA after its controversial visit to Occupied Palestine and meeting with Israeli leaders late last month, in which it said it still had questions about traces of enriched uranium previously found at three sites, which Iran had answered before.

“Iran cannot be cooperative while the IAEA displays unreasonable behavior. We hope the agency will come to its senses and respond with cooperation with Iran,” Kamalvandi said.

The IAEA board of governors was expected to vote on the motion later on Wednesday or on Thursday, diplomats said.

The talks to revive the nuclear accord started in April 2021 with the aim of bringing the United States back in, lifting sanctions and getting Iran to return to the limits it agreed to on its nuclear program.

But negotiations have stalled in recent months amid Washington’s failure to make a political decision and the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell warned last weekend that the possibility of returning to the accord was “shrinking”.

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Cameras Turned Off, More Measures Likely