IAEA: ‘Things will be bad’ for Iran if inspectors denied access

United Nations’ (UN) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief said ‘things will be bad’ for Iran inspectors are denied access to suspected nuclear sites by the end of July, i24 News reported.

IAEA’s Director-General Rafael Grossi expressed his concern for Iran’s refusal to allow access and said it was an “absolute necessity for us to resolve this issue very soon”, adding that Iran should grant his inspectors access.

Grossi has threatened measures, including to inform IAEA member states of Iran’s lack of cooperation regarding inspections, which may embolden the renewal of an arms embargo currently being pushed by Israel and the US.

Last month, the IAEA said in a report on Iran’s nuclear activities that “Iran’s refusal for several months to allow inspectors to access two sites is a major concern.”

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The document stated that the locations in question could have been used for the storage or processing of nuclear components, or even to convert uranium ore.

Last year, US President Donald Trump scrapped the ‘Iran Nuclear deal’ (known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), which was negotiated by former US President Barack Obama in 2015, which allowed Iran to have 300kg of enriched uranium.

However, the IAEA reported that Iran possessed some 1,571kg of enriched uranium as of May 20.