Iran Denies Inspectors Access to Nuclear Facility

Tehran’s move was apparently unprecedented in the history of the country, and the nation’s supreme religious leader declared that Iran will not give up its nuclear technology.

AP:

Iran turned away U.N. inspectors from an underground site meant to shelter its uranium enrichment program from attack, diplomats said Monday, while the country’s supreme leader said Tehran will not give up its contentious nuclear technology.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments came on the eve of a self-imposed deadline to respond formally to Western incentives aimed at curbing its atomic program, deflating hopes that Iran will accept a U.N. Security Council demand that it freeze enrichment by Aug. 31 or face the possibility of sanctions.

Iran’s unprecedented refusal to allow access to its underground facility at Natanz could seriously hamper U.N. attempts to ensure Tehran is not trying to produce nuclear weapons, and might violate the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, diplomats and U.N. officials told The Associated Press.

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