Iran hardens stance against IAEA and its chief in wake of US-Israel attacks

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi abruptly rejected its leader Rafael Grossi’s request to visit nuclear facilities that Israel and the United States bombed earlier this month during a 12-day conflict. The country’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has unwavering support for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Araghchi on X on Monday said that Grosssi’s insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards was “meaningless and possibly even malign in intent.” Iran “reserves the right to pursue any defenses of its interests, its people, and its sovereignty.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and French President Emmanuel Macron both stated in a statement that Grossi’s “destructive” attitude toward Iran had led to Tehran halting cooperation with the IAEA.

According to a statement from the presidency, Pezeshkian told Macron in a phone call that “the action taken by parliament members is a natural response to the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s unjustified, unconstructive, and destructive conduct.”

Iranian leaders are making it clear that the IAEA is an “international body with defined responsibilities, and these responsibilities are not political but technical,” according to Resul Serdar of Al Jazeera, who is based in Tehran. Tehran, he continued, is under “unrelenting]political] pressure” from Israel and the US, and it views the nuclear agency as an international body.

In response to Israel’s June 13 attack on Iran and subsequent US strikes on nuclear facilities, Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.

On June 24, Iran and Israel reached a truce.

Iranian officials have sharply criticized the IAEA since the start of the conflict because they did not condemn the Israeli and US strikes and because they passed a resolution on June 12 accusing Tehran of breaking its nuclear obligations the day before Israel attacked.

“Angry of Iranian public opinion”

In the interim, Grossi’s accusations have been criticized by France, Germany, and Britain.

Foreign Ministers Jean-Noel Barrot, Johann Wadephul, and David Lammy issued a joint statement, saying that “France, Germany, and the United Kingdom condemn threats made against the IAEA director general Rafael Grossi and reiterate our unwavering support for the organization.”

We urge Iranian authorities to halt any actions that might interfere with their cooperation with the IAEA, they continued. We urge Iran to resume all of its legally binding cooperation and to take all necessary precautions to protect IAEA personnel’ safety.

Iran’s ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper recently claimed that documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed despite none of the threats they were referring to.

Grossi or the agency’s inspectors have been kept safe, according to Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated on Monday that the Iranian parliament’s decision to cut off cooperation with the IAEA was “concerned and angered of the Iranian public opinion.”

He also criticized the US and Europe for sticking to Iran’s nuclear program, which he described as a “political approach.”

According to Asghar Jahangir, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, at least 935 people died in the most recent conflict with Israel, citing most recent forensic evidence. 132 women and 38 children were among the deceased, Jahangir added.

A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said the nation is actively working to resolve the Iranian nuclear conflict and offer a guarantee against any further escalation by all parties.