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UN nuclear agency asks Iran to back off on rejection of 38 inspectors
AFP
VIENNA
Petroleumworld.com 01 26 06The UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency has asked Iran to reverse its ban on 38 IAEA inspectors from working in the country, a spokeswoman told AFP on Thursday.
The IAEA "requested Iranian authorities to reconsider their decision," spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.
Fleming said the IAEA sent the letter Wednesday to Tehran, two days after an announcement in Iran that the Islamic Republic was blocking 38 IAEA inspectors from entering the country.
Alaeddin Borujerdi, the head of parliament's national security commission, told ISNA news agency on Monday that "the committee (in charge of implementing parliamentary legislation) decided not to allow 38 inspectors to enter Iran and this restriction has been officially announced to the IAEA."
In December 2006, the Iranian parliament had adopted a bill requiring the government to revise its cooperation with the IAEA after the UN Security Council passed a resolution to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment work.
IAEA inspectors regularly visit Iranian nuclear sites under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory.
The parliament adopted the bill in response to the UN resolution 1737 that imposes sanctions on Iran's nuclear and missile programmes.
Iran, OPEC's second largest oil exporter, insists its nuclear programme is solely aimed at meeting peaceful energy needs. However, the West fears that it is hiding work on building an atomic bomb.
AFP 25 1813 GMT 01 07
Copyright© 1999 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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