It would be regrettable and counterproductive for Iran to remove two of the UN nuclear watchdog's surveillance cameras as it has announced, the United States said on Wednesday as it pushed for a resolution criticizing Iran at the watchdog's board.
"If accurate, reports that Iran plans to reduce transparency in response to this resolution are extremely regrettable and counterproductive to the diplomatic outcome we seek," a US statement to a meeting of the 35-nation Board of Governors said ahead of a vote on the US-backed draft resolution. "We do not seek escalation (with Iran)."
Iran on Wednesday disconnected some of the International Atomic Energy Agency's cameras monitoring its nuclear sites, its atomic energy agency said, after Western nations accused the country of failing to cooperate.
The move was announced after Britain, France, Germany and the United States submitted a resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency to censure Iran.
The motion, the first such step since June 2020, was seen as a sign of growing Western impatience with Iran after talks on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal stalled in March.
Iran said the disconnected cameras had been operating as a "goodwill gesture", outside its safeguard agreement with the IAEA.
"As of today, the relevant authorities have been instructed to cut off the On-Line Enrichment Monitor and the flow meter cameras of the agency," said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
