United States Objects to Sanctions Waiver, Blocking Iran's Nuclear Chief From IAEA Vienna Conference

Key facts

• On 14 September 2026, the United States blocked Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and Iranian vice president, from attending the IAEA General Conference in Vienna after objecting to a UN Security Council sanctions waiver, prompting Austria to revoke his entry visa.
• Austrian Ambassador Christian Ebner informed member states that Austria's request for a travel ban exemption from the UN Security Council sanctions committee was denied following a formal US objection, and Eslami and his delegation returned to Tehran.
• Iran responded by summoning Austria's chargé d'affaires, while Iranian IAEA ambassador Reza Najafi lodged an official objection during the opening session.
• Eslami was placed under UN travel sanctions in 2008, suspended under the 2015 JCPOA via UN Security Council Resolution 2231; the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, and in 2025 France, Germany, and the UK invoked the snapback mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions, which Iran and Russia do not recognize.
• US Ambassador Preston Wells Griffith III said Washington opposed the travel exemption to uphold the UN sanctions framework, stating Eslami oversees production of near weapons-grade uranium while Iran withholds cooperation from international monitors.
• The dispute followed an IAEA Board of Governors resolution, sponsored by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, that referred Iran to the UN Security Council over lack of access to Iranian nuclear facilities and no up-to-date data on uranium stockpiles.