| Резюме: | The U.N. nuclear chief said Monday he asked to meet Iran’s president on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to try to reverse Tehran’s uncalled for” ban on “a very sizable chunk” of the agency’s inspectors. Rafael Grossi stressed that the Iranian government’s removal of many agency cameras and electronic monitoring systems installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency also make it impossible to give assurances about the country’s nuclear program. Grossi said he wrote to President Ebrahim Raisi telling him it is “very important” to meet about Tehran’s targeting of inspectors, including “some of the best and most experienced.” “I’m waiting for an answer,” Grossi said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. He also warned that escalating fighting is increasing the danger of a nuclear accident at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Ukraine. Grossi said he is seeking to re-establish a dialogue with North Korea, which expelled U.N. nuclear weapons inspectors in 2009. And he invited China to see how the IAEA tests treated water released from Japan’s Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant, which led Beijing to ban Japanese seafood. QUESTIONING WHY IRAN IS PUTTING UP ROADBLOCKS TO INSPECTION The IAEA chief said Iran has the right to determine who enters the country, but he said he didn’t understand why Tehran was withdrawing authorization for a “good number” of inspectors, which is “making my job much more difficult.” He called it a step in the wrong direction. “It’s very difficult to get the expertise to go to very sophisticated uranium enrichment facilities with thousands of (centrifuge) cascades, lots of tubing and piping, and it requires … a lot of experience,” he explained. “So, when you start limiting that … I have to say, this is not good. Stop it!” Iran has denied impeding the work of IAEA inspectors though it has also been years since its experts have been able to examine surveillance footage. The Vienna-based IAEA reported earlier this month that Iran had slowed the pace of enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels. That was seen as a sign that Tehran was trying to ease tensions after years of strain with the United States, and one that took place as the rivals were negotiating a prisoner swap and the release of billions in frozen Iranian assets — which all took place Monday. Since Iran started limiting the actions of IAEA inspectors a little over a year ago, Grossi said, the agency hasn’t been able to see how many centrifuges and parts needed to assemble them are being produced. So when the IAEA has to draw a baseline of where Iran’s nuclear program is, he said, “How do I do it?” AN UPDATE ON OTHER NUCLEAR HOT SPOTS Grossi said military operations are increasing near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is on the front line of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The June 6 destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Russian-controlled territory led to deadly flooding, ruined crops in one of the world’s breadbaskets and lowered the level of water used to cool Zaporizhzhia’s reactors. “Complications are adding up,” Grossi said, “and making the safety of the plant very, very fragile.” Initially he said he urged both sides to adopt a no-fire zone outside the plant. That became impossible. So he has been urging the Ukrainians and […]
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