Iran has turned off a number of cameras installed by the global nuclear watchdog after Western powers introduced a resolution to censure it.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced on Wednesday that it has turned off the Online Enrichment Monitor (OLEM) and flowmeter system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at an unidentified nuclear site.
All the dismantled monitoring systems were installed voluntarily and beyond the framework of the safeguards agreement with the IAEA, the AEOI said.
The AEOI statement added more than 80 percent of existing IAEA cameras are covered by the safeguards agreement and therefore remain in place and operational.
“Unfortunately, without considering that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s cooperation has been out of good will, the agency has not only not been grateful for it, but has also in a way considered it Iran’s duty,” it said.
The organisation said the IAEA had been informed of the move, which appears to have been implemented on Wednesday.
It came as a response to a resolution submitted by the United States and its European allies at the board of the IAEA on Tuesday.
In their resolution, they expressed “deep concern” over Iran’s nuclear advances and insufficient cooperation as outlined in two confidential IAEA reports released last week.
They said Iran’s possession of 60 percent enriched uranium, in addition to deploying 2,000 advanced centrifuges and expanded research and development, is cause for great concern and is “fueling distrust as to Iran’s intentions”.
They also maintained Iran’s nuclear activities have no civilian use justification and are making it more difficult to return to the country’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
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