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