Iran says 2 UN watchdog devices at nuclear site turned off

By AMIR VAHDAT and JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has turned off two surveillance devices used by U.N. nuclear inspectors to monitor the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment. Wednesday’s action further escalates the crisis over Iran’s atomic program as the country’s nuclear deal with world powers remains in tatters. State media reports said authorities deactivated the “beyond-safeguards cameras of the measuring Online Enrichment Monitor and flowmeter.” That appears to refer to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitors that watch the enrichment of uranium gas through piping. Those monitors are known to be installed at Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility. The IAEA declined to comment, though its director-general earlier criticized Iran for not providing “credible information” about unexplained nuclear material.