UN nuclear chief’s visit to Tehran not linked to US push for sanctions

Iran says that an upcoming visit this week by the head of the UN’s atomic watchdog agency to Tehran has nothing to do with a US push to impose so-called “snapback” sanctions on Iran.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency quotes Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, Kazem Gharibadadi, as saying that the visit this week is “neither related to the snapback mechanism nor the US demand.”

Gharibabadi says the visit by the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi comes within “the framework of Iran’s invitation.”

“We do not allow others to manage Iran,” he says, adding that Iran’s trust in the IAEA has been “damaged in recent months.”

He expresses hope Grossi’s visit will lead to building trust. “It is important to assure Tehran that the agency will move based on impartiality, independence and professionalism,” says Gharibabadi.

The IAEA said on Saturday that Grossi will head to Tehran to press Iranian authorities for access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material.

— AP