Iran refuses entry to U.N. nuclear watchdog envoy

As reported in 'The Japan News' : The Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — A new U.N. effort to probe suspicions that Iran worked on atomic arms ended on a downbeat note Thursday, with diplomats saying that Tehran refused entry to Iran to a U.S. nuclear expert on the U.N.’s investigating team. The diplomats also said that the trip this week didn’t succeed in advancing a decade of U.N. efforts to investigate suspicions that Tehran worked on such weapons. Iranian envoy Reza Najafi confirmed that an International Atomic Energy Agency staff member of a “particular nationality” was refused a visa. The inquiry is formally separate from U.S.-led talks with Iran focused on long-term caps on Tehran’s atomic programs in exchange for an end to nuclear-related sanctions, which resume next week in Vienna. But Washington says a successful investigation by IAEA must be part of any final deal. That is unlikely by Nov. 24 — the target date for sealing a deal. Two diplomats from IAEA member nations who spoke to The Associated Press demanded anonymity because their information is confidential. They said the U.S. expert had been repeatedly turned down since first applying for a visa eight months ago. Iran says it doesn’t want nuclear arms and never worked toward them.