IAEA pressures Iran over foot dragging as nuclear talks hang in balance

FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) -The U.N. atomic watchdog on Tuesday criticised Iran for stonewalling an investigation into past activities and jeopardising important monitoring work in Iran, possibly complicating efforts to resume talks on the Iran nuclear deal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in two reports to member states reviewed by Reuters that there had been no progress on two main issues - explaining uranium traces found last year and earlier at several old, undeclared sites and getting urgent access to some monitoring equipment so that it can continue to keep track of parts of Iran's nuclear programme.