Iran calls IAEA conference visa denial a serious breach of member rights

Iran has accused Austria of violating its obligations after its atomic chief was barred from the IAEA conference in Vienna. The row sharpens a wider standoff over sanctions, inspections and Tehran's nuclear transparency.

In Short

• Tehran summoned Austria's charge d'affaires after Mohammad Eslami was blocked
• Austria said a UN committee refused exemption from Eslami's travel ban
• Russia backed Tehran, while Washington said it opposed the waiver request

Iran on Monday condemned the exclusion of the head of its Atomic Energy Organisation from the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, calling it a serious breach of its rights as a member state. Tehran said Austria, as the host country, had failed in its obligations by not issuing a visa to Mohammad Eslami, while Austria said a UN Security Council committee had rejected its request to exempt him from a travel ban.

The dispute comes amid wider tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog. The IAEA has not been given access to Iranian nuclear sites hit during the June 2025 war, and it has also been unable to verify the status of Iran's stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium. Russia backed Iran's objections, while the United States said it had opposed the waiver request.

Addressing delegates at the conference, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, said the move amounted to "a serious breach" of Tehran's rights as a member nation. "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 IAEA meetings, he said. Najafi also criticised Austria, saying Vienna's decision not to grant a visa to Eslami "violates the host country's obligation".

Russia's ambassador to the UN in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, echoed Iran's stand and said Austria had "grossly violated" its obligations as the host nation of the IAEA. He said Western countries had "unleashed a genuine campaign of visa-related abuses so as to settle scores with countries they deem to be undesirable".

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also condemned Austria's refusal to issue the visa. He said Tehran had protested the decision and summoned the Austrian charge d'affaires, saying Austria was obliged as the host country to issue the visas.

Austria responded by saying a UN Security Council committee was responsible for the decision. Christian Ebner, Austria's ambassador to the IAEA, said the committee had rejected Austria's request to exempt Eslami from the travel ban. "As a consequence, Austria was obliged to deny one member of the Iranian delegation the entry into its territory," he said.

As host to international organisations, Austria can seek exemptions from travel bans to allow sanctioned officials to attend conferences at the UN in Vienna. But the final decision rests with the UN Security Council's sanctions committee. That committee oversees the punitive measures reimposed last year after France, Britain and Germany triggered the so-called snapback mechanism, which automatically restored all UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The reinstated sanctions include a travel ban, a conventional arms embargo, restrictions on ballistic missile development, asset freezes and a ban on producing nuclear-related technology. Iran, Russia and China reject the legality of the sanctions reimposed under the snapback mechanism.

Preston Wells Griffith, the US ambassador to the UN in Vienna, said Austria's request for an exemption was denied after Washington objected at the committee. "While we are focused on a diplomatic solution to the challenges posed by Iran's nuclear programme, we could not allow a UN designated official to travel without any meaningful cooperation on nuclear safeguards," he said.

Since Israel and the US struck Iran's nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June 2025, Iran has not allowed IAEA inspectors to visit the affected sites, even though Tehran is legally required to cooperate with the watchdog under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The IAEA has also been unable to verify the status of a stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium. According to the agency, Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

Earlier this month, the IAEA's board adopted a resolution reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years over its failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found by inspectors at undeclared sites. Western officials suspect the traces could point to a secret nuclear weapons programme that continued until 2003. Iran says it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and that its programme is entirely peaceful.

The visa dispute at the IAEA conference has unfolded alongside deepening disagreements over Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions and the agency's access to key sites, with Tehran, Moscow, Vienna and Washington setting out sharply different positions.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends