Iran protests US blocking nuclear chief from attending IAEA meeting

VIENNA, Sept 14: The United States blocked Iran's nuclear chief from attending this week's UN atomic watchdog meeting in Vienna by opposing an exemption from so-called "snapback" UN sanctions, prompting protests from Tehran on Monday.

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 that began on Monday. At the opening, however, Iran said Austria had revoked Eslami'svisa 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 spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the United States 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 United States said it had objected to an exemption that would have allowed Eslami to travel despite sanctions reimposed under the so-called "snapback" mechanism at the UN Security Council.�" REUTERS