Iran Censures IAEA for Failing to Fulfill Legal Obligations
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami criticized the United Nations nuclear agency for its refusal to condemn the Israeli and US attacks against Iran’s nuclear facilities and its failure to fulfill legal duties.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Eslami clarified that the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in Iran is now severely restricted and operates strictly under the framework of a bill passed by Parliament.“Our criterion for working with the nuclear agency is the new law of the parliament,” he said in response to questions about the IAEA inspectors’ access.The official explained that the new law sets two conditions: the IAEA must condemn attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and provide a formal guarantee to protect information related to Iran’s nuclear industry.
Iran has barred any new inspections since the onslaught by the Israeli regime and the United States in June, citing safety concerns at damaged nuclear facilities and criticizing the IAEA’s failure to condemn the aerial attacks.Tehran has been increasingly critical of the IAEA since the onset of the Israeli war, and Iranian officials have accused the UN nuclear agency of being complicit in the US attacks against Tehran's nuclear facilities.The Islamic Republic had also filed a complaint with the UN secretary-general and president of the UN Security Council against the IAEA’s chief over his bias and lack of action in response to Israel's aggression against Tehran and its nuclear program.Finally, the Iranian Parliament passed a law mandating the government to suspend all collaboration with the IAEA. Under the law, the atomic agency’s inspectors will not be permitted to enter Iran unless the security of the country's nuclear sites and that of peaceful nuclear activities is guaranteed, which is subject to the approval of the Supreme National Security Council.
“Up to this point, the IAEA has not fulfilled its legal duty,” Eslami continued, adding that as long as “these measures are not taken, the parliament’s law cannot be implemented.”Eslami highlighted that the presence of inspectors in Iran is not determined by the Agency’s own plans, emphasizing that only two pre-approved inspections—at the Bushehr nuclear facility and the Tehran research reactor—have been authorized, during which inspectors “arrived, conducted their inspections, and then left the country.