The Wall Street Journal quoted diplomats as saying that security agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran have sexually harassed several members of the International Atomic Energy Agency over the past few months, and that the United States has called on Iran to stop this behavior immediately.
According to the newspaper, the diplomats said that the harassment, which took place at the Natanz facility and had not been announced before, included the inappropriate touching of the IAEA female inspectors by male security agents and their order to the inspectors to take off their clothes. One diplomat told the Wall Street Journal that at least four separate incidents of harassment had taken place, and another diplomat put the number at “five to seven”.
The Wall Street Journal also reported a letter from the United States to members of the IAEA Board of Governors ahead of this week’s meeting, in which Washington called for an end to such behavior by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The letter to members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the harassment of IAEA inspectors was “absolutely unacceptable” and that the United States was urging members to make it clear in a public statement from the Board of Governors that such behavior should end. The United States has also said that if such behavior is not stopped and new cases of harassment of female inspectors are reported, the IAEA Board of Governors should take immediate action.
According to diplomats, the first case of harassment took place in early June, and the most recent one is in recent weeks. The Islamic regime of Iran has not yet responded to the diplomats’ remarks, but an IAEA spokesperson confirmed the incident without elaborating. An IAEA spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal: “The IAEA raised this issue with Iran immediately and decisively to clarify it unequivocally, because such incidents related to staff safety are unacceptable and should not be repeated.” He added that Iran has also provided explanations for increasing security measures following some incidents at one of its nuclear facilities. An IAEA spokesperson added: “After this correspondence between the IAEA and Iran, there has been no new case reported.”
In November 2019, a female inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency was arrested in Iran and expelled after her admission documents were revoked. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a statement that the reason for Iran’s move was “a concern about the possibility of carrying suspicious substances.”
