Iran is linking future IAEA cooperation to fairness after the fatal June conflict between Israel and the United States.
The Iranian president warned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to abandon the “double standards” if they want to restore cooperation with the country’s nuclear program, amid a keen distrust following the US attacks on Israeli and the US Iranian nuclear sites last month, and the refusal for UN nuclear observers to denounce the strike.
According to Iran’s national media, President Masuud Pezesian called Council of Europe President Antonio Costa on Thursday, saying “continuing cooperation between Iran and his agency depends on amending double standards on nuclear files.”
Pezeshkian also declared that “repeated attacks on Iran will be filled with more decisive and unfortunate reactions.”
Tehran’s relationship with the IAEA has deteriorated sharply since mid-June, when Israel launched air attacks on Iran, struck military and nuclear sites, as well as many civilian regions. The attack was then followed by a US air raid using bunkerbuster bombs. Iran retaliated with launching missiles and drones in Israel, causing a 12-day conflict.
The Iranian missile attack on a US base in Qatar was the final act before a fragile ceasefire was declared by US President Donald Trump.
Last week, Pezeshkian signed a law halting Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA.
The agency confirmed that the last remaining inspectors have now left the country and returned to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna. The agency said staff had remained in Tehran through the conflict, reiterating its intention to resume surveillance work “as soon as possible.”
IAEA Chihurafaer Grossi described consultations with Iran as “a top priority,” but admitted that his agency had not had access to Iran’s facilities since the attack. Tehran accused the IAEA of enabling the strike by issuing a resolution on June 12 (just a day before the bombing).
Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful purpose and it denied seeking nuclear weapons. However, it made it clear that the agency no longer trusts it to act fairly.
Despite continuing to be a signatory to the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Iran claims that the IAEA has failed to condemn attacks by the US and Israel, and has instead chosen to conform to Western pressure.
US State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce denounced Tehran’s decision to suspend IAEA cooperation, calling it “unacceptable” and urged Iran to “reverse the course and choose a path of peace and prosperity.”
“Iran does not have and does not have nuclear weapons,” she said.
Neither the US intelligence nor Grossi confirmed that Iran was building a nuclear bomb.
Leaders of the BRICS bloc on Sunday sharply condemned Iran’s US and Israel bombings in June, calling them “a blatant violation of international law.”
