Tehran claims the IAEA misrepresented its nuclear program before the Israeli-US attacks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has officially ceased cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This action follows a parliamentary resolution enacted after Israeli and US assaults on Iranian nuclear sites.
The law, approved by Iran’s Guardian Council and passed by legislators on June 25, mandates that all government bodies sever connections with the UN nuclear watchdog. Pezeshkian’s office announced on Wednesday that he had instructed the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the Foreign Ministry, and the Supreme National Security Council to implement this directive.
Israel asserted its actions were a crucial preemptive step to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which Tehran has repeatedly refuted. The US helped defend Israel against retaliatory attacks and subsequently participated in the offensive, with President Donald Trump stating that US military operations had “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear program.
Prior to the Israeli strikes, the IAEA board of governors found Iran in non-compliance with a crucial safeguard accord. This determination stemmed from a late May report by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, which referenced statements from former Iranian officials asserting Iran’s capability to construct nuclear weapons. However, the same report also stated there were “no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear program.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Grossi of “obscuring the truth in [an] absolutely biased report that was instrumentalized” by Western countries to validate the resolution denouncing Tehran.
For decades, Israel has alleged that Iran is pursuing nuclear armaments, despite the Islamic Republic’s stance that such weapons contravene Islamic tenets. The IAEA is tasked with confirming the peaceful application of nuclear technology among nations party to the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Iran is a signatory. Israel, which has not signed the NPT and does not officially confirm its nuclear arsenal, is estimated by specialists to hold approximately 80 nuclear warheads.
Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran consented to stringent restrictions on its nuclear activities in return for the easing of sanctions. The agreement largely failed after the US withdrew unilaterally in 2018 during Trump’s initial term. Instead, Trump pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Iran.
Russia, having voted against the IAEA resolution, criticized the US and Israeli strikes, asserting that these actions had undermined the NPT and harmed the IAEA’s credibility.