UN Nuke Inspector Dies in Iran Crash

Cue the conspiracy theories: A UN nuclear inspector from South Korea was killed and a second inspector from Slovenia was injured in a car crash today, the nuclear watchdog agency said. Iran's official IRNA news agency said the inspectors' car overturned around a heavy water reactor being built in Khondab, about 150 miles southwest of Tehran. There were no immediate indications of foul play, but the crash is likely to undergo intense scrutiny.

The incident comes ahead of a new round of technical discussions between Tehran and the IAEA to be held in Vienna beginning Sunday. Higher-level negotiations also are planned later this month in Baghdad between envoys from Iran and six world powers including the United States. Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog regularly visit Iran's nuclear facilities, though these stops often receive far less attention than the high-level IAEA teams sent to Iran to discuss access to other sites, such as the Parchin military base near Tehran where the UN suspects nuclear-related work has taken place. (More Iran stories.)