Iran will allow new cameras at nuclear site: UN watchdog

Tehran: The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Iran reached a deal Wednesday to reinstall cameras damaged at an Iranian site that manufactures centrifuge parts, though inspectors remain limited on what footage they can access.

The agreement will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran describes as a sabotage attack in June. Iran had since refused the International Atomic Energy Agency access to replace cameras damaged in the incident, part of an ongoing hard-line tact taken by Tehran at negotiations underway in Vienna over its tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iranian media first reported the deal without citing a source. IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi later tweeted out a statement detailing the arrangement. The IAEA said the cameras would be reinstalled at Karaj in the “coming days.” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian reportedly said earlier Wednesday that Iran had “reached a good agreement” with the IAEA.

As part of Wednesday’s deal, the IAEA said it would “make available a sample camera and related technical information to Iran for analysis by its relevant security and judiciary officials, in the presence of the agency inspectors.”

However, Iran still will keep all recordings from the cameras — part of another ongoing dispute between the agency and Tehran sparked by the nuclear deal’s collapse.

“The agency and Iran will continue to work on remaining outstanding safeguards issues with the aim of resolving them,” the IAEA said.

In an analysis, the Eurasia Group described Wednesday’s development as Tehran agreeing “to the bare minimum to avoid escalating the monitoring crisis.” Negotiations continue in Vienna over trying to restore the nuclear deal. However, Iran under hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi has taken a maximalist position in negotiations. –(AP)