By Francois MurphyVIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's barring of some of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's most experienced and expert inspectors from the team allowed to operate there is a "very serious blow" to the agency's work, the watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.
One diplomat put the number of inspectors barred in this wave at eight, all of them French and German.
That left only one enrichment expert in the team assigned to Iran, they added.
They also were inspectors that were familiar with the facilities, had been there for years inspecting the facilities," the senior diplomat said, referring to the de-designated inspectors.
The inspector who spotted that change, a Russian enrichment expert, was de-designated later this year, shortly before the others, numerous diplomats said.
Persons:
Francois Murphy VIENNA, Rafael Grossi, Grossi, John Irish, Frances Kerry
Organizations:
International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Diplomats
Locations:
Tehran, Iran, Paris