Iran says external threats could lead to deterrent measures against IAEA

DUBAI, April 10 (Reuters) - Iran may suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if external threats continue, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump again warned of military force if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal.

Iranian and American diplomats will visit Oman on Saturday to start dialogue on Tehran's nuclear programme, with Trump saying he would have the final word on whether talks are reaching a breakdown, which would put Iran in "great danger".

“Continued external threats and putting Iran under the conditions of a military attack could lead to deterrent measures like the expulsion of IAEA inspectors and ceasing cooperation with it,” Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published on X, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Transferring enriched material to safe and undisclosed locations in Iran could also be on the agenda,” he wrote.

While the U.S. insists that the talks with Tehran will be direct, Iran has stressed the negotiations will be indirect with intermediation from Oman’s foreign minister.

During his first 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers designed to curb Iran’s sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping U.S. sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment, according to the IAEA.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program.

Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Sharon Singleton)