Iran restricts UN nuke inspections to force Europe to lift economic curbs

Iran officially has begun restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities, state TV reported on Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and US President Joe Biden’s administration to lift economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran has said it plans to cease its implementation of the “Additional Protocol,” a confidential agreement between Tehran and the IAEA reached as part of the landmark nuclear accord that grants the UN inspectors enhanced powers to visit nuclear facilities and watch Iran’s program.

It remains unclear exactly how access will be limited. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the IAEA would be blocked from accessing its network of surveillance cameras at nuclear sites. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Tehran’s civilian nuclear agency, has promised to keep the footage for three months, then hand it over to the IAEA — but only if granted sanctions relief.

Nearly three years ago, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions on Iran that have crippled its economy.

To ramp up pressure on the Biden

administration, Iran has announced gradual violations of the 2015 agreement.

Over recent weeks, Iran has started enriching uranium up to 20 per cent purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. It also has begun spinning advanced centrifuges and producing uranium metal, a component of a nuclear warhead.

On Monday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signaled Iran would refuse to capitulate to US pressure over its nuclear program. Khamenei said that Iran could enrich uranium up to 60 per cent purity if necessary, but reiterated the country forbids nuclear weapons.

The Biden administration’s early efforts to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are getting a chilly early response from Tehran. Though few expected a breakthrough in the first month of the new administration, Iran’s tough line suggests a difficult road ahead.

Having made several significant overtures to Iran in its first weeks in office, the administration’s outreach has been all but shunned by the Iranians. They had already rejected Biden’s opening gambit: a US return to the deal from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. Biden’s attempt to resurrect Iran nuke deal gets cold response