Iranian nuclear chief barred from UN meeting in Vienna

<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iran/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iran/">Iran</a>'s top nuclear official was barred from attending a UN meeting in Vienna on Monday after pressure from the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/us/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/us/">US</a>. Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran's nuclear energy organisation, had been due to address the meeting at the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iaea/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iaea/">International Atomic Energy Agency</a>'s headquarters in Austria. But Mr Eslami's entry was blocked due to his inclusion on a UN sanctions list. The measures in question had been lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal but were restored a year ago in a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2025/09/19/iran-sanctions-snapback-un/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2025/09/19/iran-sanctions-snapback-un/">so-called snapback</a> move. Austria applied to the UN Security Council for an exemption but was informed it had been “rejected due to a lack of consensus”, its Foreign Ministry said. “Entry could therefore not be permitted, in view of Austria's international obligations.” The US ambassador to the IAEA, Preston Wells Griffith, confirmed the denial of a waiver had followed urgent calls from the Trump administration. An Iranian official on the UN sanctions list could not be allowed to travel until Tehran provided “meaningful co-operation” on nuclear issues, Mr Griffith said. “His participation would have only resulted in Iran exploiting IAEA proceedings for propaganda.” Iran protested against the ban. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the move “completely unjustified” at a press conference on Monday. Iran’s IAEA ambassador Reza Najafi said it was politically motivated and part of a “deeply disturbing trend” that undermines Austria’s role in international diplomacy. Neutral Austria has long been a centre for both international affairs and espionage. The IAEA is part of the UN system and Iran typically uses its membership of the organisation to lobby for its position in Vienna. Iran and Russia said the snub to Mr Eslami formed part of a broader effort to prevent Iranian officials from obtaining visas for international travel. The move to bar Tehran’s senior nuclear official comes more than six months into the US war with the Islamic republic, which President Donald Trump says is essential to prevent the country from having an atomic weapon. Iran denies any such intentions. The IAEA said this month it had observed construction activity at Pickaxe Mountain in Iran's Isfahan province, a heavily fortified site at which nuclear-related activity is suspected. Mr Trump last week cited the presence of “a little activity at Pickaxe” and warned Iran “not to get cute, because we will have to hit them very hard”.