Blinken: Iran Uninterested in Being a Responsible Party in Its Nuclear Program

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Iran's decision to bar certain United Nations nuclear inspectors indicates that it is uninterested in being a responsible party in its nuclear program. His comments suggest that Washington is skeptical about Tehran's willingness to seriously engage in limiting its nuclear program. The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned Iran's decision to exclude several designated inspectors in the country, which hampers oversight of Tehran's nuclear activities. Iran has stated that it is responding to a call from the U.S. and three of its European allies for Tehran to immediately cooperate with the Vienna-based agency on issues, including the interpretation of uranium traces found at undeclared sites. One of the IAEA's main objectives is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by verifying that countries adhere to their obligations to use nuclear technology solely for peaceful purposes. The IAEA was responsible for verifying Iran's compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, under which Tehran limited its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions imposed by the U.S., European Union, and the United Nations. Efforts to revive the agreement, from which former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, have collapsed, and there are attempts to find a new way to urge Tehran to restrict its program. Blinken told reporters, "We have tried to work indirectly with Iran as well as with our European partners and even Russia and China to see if we could get back to compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, but Iran has not been able or willing to do so." He added, "Just last week we saw them exclude IAEA inspectors who play a critical role in doing the work of the IAEA - to the best of their ability - to ensure Iran complies with its obligations. This indicates that Iran is uninterested in being a responsible party."