Addressing the IAEA in a speech on Monday, Iranian official Fereydun Abbasi-Davani condemned the international watchdog as hopefully mismanaged and said Iran was concerned it had been infiltrated by “terrorists and saboteurs.”
Abbasi-Davani cited a August 17 incident, in which the power lines to the Fordo enrichment facility were cut by an explosive planting, noting that unanticipated power cuts are a possible way to damage centrifuges.
He said that the sabotage attempt was particularly suspicious because the IAEA suddenly demanded an unannounced inspection of the facility almost immediately thereafter, apparently to size up how much damage the cut had done.
Iran was already uneasy with dealing with the IAEA on the “additional protocols,” including granting them access to conventional military sites because of the number of “leaks” of supposedly confidential data that happen after such visits. If they suspect the IAEA is directly playing a role in sabotaging nuclear facilities it will make cooperation even more difficult.
