U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends breakfast with the Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council Nations, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in New York, U.S. Third from left is Oman Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al-Busaidi and fourth from right is Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi. Acquire Licensing Rights
CAIRO, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the U.S. renewed calls for Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the countries said in a joint statement.
The statement came after a meeting of the GCC Arab foreign ministers, the U.S. Secretary of State and GCC Secretary-General in New York.
Iran barred multiple International IAEA’s inspectors assigned to oversee Tehran’s atomic activities in a move described by the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, as “disproportionate and unprecedented.”
Iran’s move was a response to a call led by the United States, Britain, France and Germany at the IAEA’s Board of Governors meeting last week for Tehran to cooperate immediately with the IAEA on issues including explaining uranium traces found at undeclared sites.
Reporting by Enas Alashray and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sonali Paul
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
