Saudi Arabia backs IAEA calls for access to Iranian nuclear sites

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi awaits the start of an interactive board of governors meeting at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (File/Reuters)

• The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors called on Iran in the resolution on Friday to stop denying the agency access to two suspected former nuclear sites
• The resolution was submitted by France, Germany and UK

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia welcomed the IAEA’s adoption of a resolution calling for Iran to provide inspectors access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material.
The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors called on Iran in the resolution on Friday to stop denying the agency access to two suspected former nuclear sites and to cooperate fully with it.
The Kingdom “supports this resolution, because it represents an important and serious step in efforts to counter Iran’s violations and breaches of international agreements and treaties related to its nuclear program,” Saudi Arabia’s governor to the IAEA Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan said.
The resolution was submitted by France, Germany and UK.
Earlier this week, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated concerns that for more than four months Iran had denied his inspectors access to two locations “to clarify our questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities.”
Activities at the sites are thought to have been from the early 2000s, before Iran signed the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.