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US berates Iran over barring of IAEA inspectors

"If they continue in this kind of behavior, they will find themselves only more and more isolated from the rest of the world."

Sean McCormack, US State Department spokesman

The US on Monday denounced a reported decision by Iran to bar some UN nuclear inspectors from the country as an attempt to "dictate terms" to the international community in the standoff over Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program.

"It's another indication that Iran continues in its defiant attitude toward the international community," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said of reports Iran would block 38 inspectors from the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA), the UN's nuclear regulator.

The Vienna-based IAEA said it was discussing the demand with Iran but added that it could continue monitoring the country's nuclear facilities even without the inspectors designated by Tehran.

Last month, Iran's parliament adopted a bill requiring the government to revise its cooperation with the IAEA, after the UN Security Council passed a resolution to impose sanctions on Tehran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment work.

Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of parliament's national security commission, said on Monday that blocking the inspectors was a "first step in implementing the parliament legislation."

McCormack said the move was "another example of the Iranians trying to dictate terms to the international community."

"This regime clearly doesn't get it," he said.

"If they continue in this kind of behavior, they will find themselves only more and more isolated from the rest of the world," he said.

The UN imposed sanctions targetting Iran's nuclear and missile sectors after Tehran refused to comply with demands it freeze a uranium enrichment program some fear is aimed at producing nuclear weapons.

Tehran insists the program is only designed to produce fuel for civilian energy production, an activity allowed under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

"I don't know who's providing the leadership their advice, but it doesn't do their reputation in the international system any good and this kind of defiant behavior only adds to that," McCormack said.

Meanwhile, the Russian Itar-Tass news agency, quoted Sergei Chemezov, head of state arms exporter Rosoboronexport as saying yesterday that Russia had completed a contract to deliver its TOR-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran.

"[Russia] fully completed delivery to Iran of the TOR-M1 missile complexes at the end of December 2006," Tass quoted Chemezov as saying.

The deal to supply the missiles has angered the US and Israel.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said last week that the missile systems were being delivered to Iran, but his ministry said at the time the deliveries not been completed.

Washington and Israel say Iran could use the missile systems to attack its neighbors and undermine security in the Middle East.

Russia says the missiles only operate over a short-range and are a purely defensive weapon.
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