(Bloomberg) — A top Iranian official has been blocked from addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference in Vienna after pressure from the Trump administration.
Iran’s vice president for nuclear affairs, Mohammad Eslami, had been slated to address the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Monday, according to a US official, before Austria denied him entry. The Mehr News Agency reported Saturday that Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, had left Tehran to attend the conference.
A spokeswoman for the Austrian government deferred to the Foreign Ministry, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours in Vienna.
The denial of a UN-requested sanctions waiver for Eslami that would have allowed him to enter Austria followed urging from the US, said the official, who asked not to be named in order to speak candidly about a sensitive matter. While a lower-level Iranian representative may address the gathering later this week, the move means a top emissary from Tehran won’t be able to speak at the conference’s start.
His attendance and early speaking slot could have been seen as lending credibility to Iran, seven months into a US and Israeli war on the Islamic Republic that President Donald Trump says is essential to keep it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Instead, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is set to use the forum to deliver a warning to Tehran, insisting that the US is unequivocal in its position that “Iran must never develop or obtain a nuclear weapon.”
“Iran must fully cooperate with the IAEA, meet its safeguards obligations, and provide the access necessary for the agency to do its job,” Wright is prepared to say, according to an administration official, who asked not to be named discussing excerpts of the speech in advance.
Wright’s planned speech follows a warning from the IAEA that the agency observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified site suspected of housing nuclear-related activity. Trump last Wednesday cited the presence of “a little activity at Pickaxe” and warned Iran “not to get cute, because we will have to hit them very hard.”
Wright also is set to highlight the IAEA’s “founding mission,” not just addressing nuclear security but also in verifying nuclear safeguards and “delivering peaceful nuclear technology to member states.”
“We ask the agency to prioritize operational efficiency, eliminate redundant programs, and ensure that all funding contributed by member states is used to uphold the foundational promise that underpins the nuclear nonproliferation regime,” Wright is slated to say. “A disciplined IAEA — remaining focused on its core technical mandate — will prove beneficial to all member states.”
The appeal coincides with a Trump administration push to accelerate nuclear power to help meet surging electricity demand. In July, the US and Saudi Arabia finalized a long-sought nuclear technology-sharing deal that could allow American companies to build reactors in the kingdom.
Wright is expected to describe the US as committed to working with the IAEA and member countries to promote peaceful nuclear technology.
“As America leads a new era of nuclear energy at home and around the world, we will prove that rapid growth and uncompromising standards go hand in hand,” Wright plans to say, according to the official. “American nuclear leadership means American technology backed by the world’s highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation — protecting our national interests while strengthening the competitiveness of our companies and earning the trust of our partners.”
–With assistance from Jonathan Tirone.
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