On September 14, the United States blocked Mohammad Eslami, Iran's nuclear chief, from attending an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna by opposing a travel exemption for him due to U.N. "snapback" sanctions. Austria initially granted Eslami a visa but later revoked it under pressure from the US, which insisted he was a sanctioned individual. Iran protested that this move politicizes the IAEA and bars Iranian officials from international travel. The United States defended its action, stating that they did not want sanctioned individuals to evade their penalties. This incident escalated tensions between Iran and the U.S., with an Iranian atomic official accusing the US of "bullying" and creating a dangerous precedent for other nations' access to IAEA meetings.
"One cannot interpret this latest malicious act of the U.S. administration (as) anything more than a childish type of behaviour."
