Row Over IAEA Inspectors in Iran: Much Ado About Nothing?

US Claims Iran 'Trying to Intimidate' IAEA With Bannings

Though there appears to have been precious little evidence supporting anything untoward in the latest IAEA report on Iran, there seems to be considerable eagerness to start some sort of speculation based on something mentioned in it.

Today that concern seems to be centered around a mention that Iran had rejected some of the proposed inspectors on the grounds that they might be biased, which led the US today to condemn the move as “unprecedented” and accuse Iran of “trying to intimidate the IAEA.”

But this doesn’t seem to be the case, as the IAEA does allow nations to reject inspectors, and none of the rejections changed what should be the most important aspect, that the IAEA “continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear materials.”

Iran hit back at the allegations today, insisting that the IAEA was never meant to be a “subordinate” to the UN Security Council and that it rejects any demands above and beyond the provisions of its Comprehensive Safeguards agreement as illegitmate.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.