Iranian Foreign Policy Official Slams IAEA Chief for Toeing US Line

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) Kamal Kharrazi, the chief of a foreign policy think-tank advising Iran's spiritual leader, accused the head of the global nuclear watchdog on Friday of taking orders from Washington.

US special representative for Iran Brian Hook traveled to Vienna on Wednesday for talks with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi. The State Department said they discussed the IAEA's verification work conducted by nuclear inspectors in Iran.

Kharrazi, who heads the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, commented on the meeting, saying it showed the extend to which the UN nuclear authority lacked independence, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The foreign policy official described Grossi's behavior as suspicious and blamed him for coordinating his agency's actions with the United States, which he referred to as a "conspiracy center against Iran."

He also suggested that the United Kingdom, France and Germany were following US lead in trying to stop Iran from continuing its peaceful nuclear research.

Last month, the trio sided with the United States for the first time since Washington quit the landmark nuclear deal, demanding that the Islamic Republic return to full compliance with the 2015 agreement.