UN nuclear chief in Iran talks as country threatens watchdog’s cameras

IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, speaks with Iranian atomic agency official Behrouz Kamalvandi. Picture: Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran/AP

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog met Iranian officials on Sunday in a bid to preserve his inspectors’ ability to monitor Tehran’s atomic programme, even as authorities said they planned to cut off their surveillance cameras at those sites.

Rafael Grossi’s arrival in Tehran came as Iran tries to pressure Europe and the new Biden administration into returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, which President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from in 2018.