US blocks Iran nuclear chief from attending key Vienna conference

The United States has barred Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, from attending this week’s annual General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at its headquarters in Vienna, after the United Nations Security Council rejected any waiver of “snapback” sanctions.

Eslami and his accompanying delegation were forced to cancel their trip to the five-day conference after Austria revoked his visa, Iranian state media said.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization is subject to a UN Security Council travel ban under the pre-2015 multilateral “snapback” framework, which was reinstated last year by European signatories. It mandates that member states prevent the entry or transit of designated Iranian officials who are linked to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Speaking at the conference opening, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, confirmed to delegations that Eslami’s visa had originally been approved, calling the move a direct infringement on Iran’s rights as a member state.

“By obstructing our full and effective participation, the denial of access contravenes both the letter and the spirit of the legal framework” governing attendance at meetings of the IAEA, he said, adding that Vienna’s decision not to grant a visa to Eslami “violates the host country’s obligation”.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused the US of pressuring Austria into the decision, as Eslami had regularly attended and addressed the IAEA’s General Conference in Vienna since being appointed head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization in 2021.

Both Iran and Russia viewed the incident as part of a coordinated effort to thwart Iranian officials from securing international travel visas.

“The cancellation and so-called legal justification advanced for it are a stark indication of a political act and advanced formal politicisation of this organisation,” Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA told the conference.

Last year, France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the E3) triggered the snapback mechanism of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to automatically recover UN sanctions that had been temporarily suspended under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, when the JCPOA took effect in 2015. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord three years later.

The snapback sanctions include travel bans, a UN conventional arms embargo, restrictions on activities related to ballistic missile development and capabilities, asset freezes and a ban on producing nuclear-related technology.

Iran and its allies, including Russia, do not recognise the reimposed sanctions.

Austria’s status as host state to UN bodies allows it to request travel ban derogations for sanctioned officials attending international conferences, and it initially sought a UN Security Council travel-ban exemption for Iran’s nuclear chief. But the US objected.

Under the UN committee’s strict “no-objection” rule, “Austria was obliged to deny one member of the Iranian delegation the entry into its territory”, Austria’s ambassador to the IAEA, Christian Ebner, told the conference.

US Ambassador Preston Wells Griffith III said his country had objected in New York to granting an exemption, which is why the application was denied.

“His (Eslami’s) participation would have only resulted in Iran exploiting IAEA proceedings as a stage for propaganda while sidestepping substantive cooperation, undermining the credibility of the very body charged with verifying its nuclear commitments,” he said, referring to a standoff over nuclear inspections.

Following US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities during the 12-day war in June of last year, Tehran has denied IAEA inspectors access to the affected sites, a breach of its legal obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has maintained that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and its programme is entirely peaceful.

On Monday, Trump said Iran wanted to reach a deal with Washington, signalling a possible diplomatic opening despite the Strait of Hormuz impasse, widening regional escalations and the postponement of talks between Gulf Arab states and Iran.

“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to,” the president wrote on Truth Social.