Iran protests US decision to block nuclear chief from IAEA meeting

Iran’s top nuclear official was stopped at the diplomatic door this week after the United States successfully blocked his attendance at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in Vienna. Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, had his Austrian visa revoked just before his planned travel, the result of Washington opposing a UN sanctions exemption request that would have cleared his path. What happened in Vienna The IAEA General Conference, running through September 18, 2026, brings together member states to discuss nuclear safety, compliance, and cooperation. Eslami had attended and spoken at the same event in 2025 without incident. This year was different. The US blocked the exemption request under the “snapback” mechanism, a provision rooted in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Snapback allows any original JCPOA participant to reimpose UN sanctions that had been lifted under the deal. With Eslami personally subject to those restored sanctions, Austria had little choice but to pull the visa. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the decision in institutional terms. He argued that Eslami’s participation would undermine the IAEA’s ...