IAEA nuke inspectors could be thrown out of Iran

London, June 11 (ANI): Following a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decision to impose fresh sanctions on Iran for its alleged nuclear weapons and enrichment program, authorities in Tehran are likely to ask International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors appointed by the United Nations to leave the country.

The Telegraph quoted Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of Iran's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, as saying that the fresh sanctions were "a political, illegal and a failed move."

According to the paper, Iranians officials were divided on the merits of withdrawing from the weapons inspections regime but acknowledged that support for the measure was strong.

"The parliamentarians are very upset. As of now, there is no intention to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or to stop our co-operation in accordance with IAEA safeguards," it quoted Aliasghar Soltanieh, Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna, as saying.

Iran has repeatedly broken the rules governing weapons inspections. It refuses to allow on-the-spot inspections at one of the two declared facilities where it is processing nuclear material. It has built new plants, most recently near the city of Qom, without informing the agency.

It has restricted the installation of monitoring cameras to ensure there are blind spots in its facilities. Iranian officials have also been criticised for restricting the issuance of visas to inspectors.

"Iran's co-operation with the IAEA is abysmal. It should by rights have been found in non-compliance by now," said Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on Iran's nuclear programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank.

"It is compulsory to fulfil a decision by the UN Security Council and Russia is not an exception here," said the source in the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesman however said it did not believe the sanctions resolution banned the sale of all air defences to Iran.

Western diplomats said that the transfer of the system was high unlikely in the aftermath of the ban on heavy weapons sales.

Meanwhile, Iran's opposition leaders have called off protests planned for Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of the rigged presidential election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. (ANI)