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38 nuclear inspectors are barred from Iran

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 23, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country, the foreign minister said Monday in what appeared to be retaliation for the U.N. sanctions imposed last month.

The rejected officials are on a list of potential inspectors drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit and monitor Iran's nuclear facilities.

"The act of rejecting some inspectors is legal and in accordance with the agency's regulations," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the official Islamic Republic News Agency. He said others on the U.N. nuclear watchdog's list remain eligible, but did not explain how Iran decided which inspectors to bar.

Last month, the U.N. Security Council imposed trade sanctions on Iran over its refusal to cease uranium enrichment, a process that can produce the material for nuclear energy or bombs.

Days later, the Iranian Parliament passed a motion that obliged the government to revise its cooperation with the IAEA, but gave it a free hand to determine the steps to be taken.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming and other agency officials did not immediately return after-hours calls seeking comment.

The United States rebuked Iran for the move. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it was "another example of the Iranians trying to dictate the terms to the international community - in this case, the IAEA."

The United States and some of its allies accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies this, saying its program is only to produce nuclear energy.

[Last modified January 23, 2007, 01:38:24]