Saudi Arabia backs IAEA efforts to inspect Iran's nuclear sites

Prince Khalid’s  remarks on Thursday came during a virtual session for the IAEA board of governors meeting. (SPA)
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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday affirmed its support for the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to intensify inspections of Iranian sites and nuclear activities.

Prince Khalid bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Austria, who is also the country’s governor to the IAEA, praised the report by the agency’s director general Rafael Grossi, which called on Iran to fully and immediately cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog. 

Prince Khalid’s remarks on Thursday came during a virtual session for the IAEA board of governors meeting, which mainly focused on Iran’s nuclear program. 

Prince Khalid affirmed that Grossi’s report was necessary to keep council member states fully informed on the developments of Iran’s repeated violations of its nuclear agreement. 

“The report by the director general of the IAEA shows the Iranian side’s intransigence in dealing with the agency's requests for more than a year, and Iran’s failure to cooperate with the agency.

“For more than four months, Iran has continued to provide irrational justifications in its refusal for the IAEA's request to allow two inspectors to verify any undeclared nuclear material and activities at the sites under its Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol with the IAEA.”

“This reinforces doubts about Iran's nuclear program intentions and what it is seeking to reach,” he said.