quote:

Iran has cancelled the accreditation of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector who was prevented from entering a nuclear facility last week.

It said the woman triggered an alarm at the gate to the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, raising fears that she was carrying "suspicious material".

The IAEA disagreed with the account and said the inspector was also temporarily prevented from leaving Iran.

It was apparently the first such case since a 2015 nuclear deal took effect.

Meanwhile, the US said Iran might be "positioning itself to have the option of a rapid nuclear break-out" - the time it would take to acquire enough fissile material for one bomb - after it suspended another commitment under the accord.

On Thursday, uranium enrichment resumed at the underground Fordo facility. Enriched uranium can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons.