Iran Rejects IAEA Chief’s Request for Visiting Bombed Sites
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian foreign minister held the UN nuclear agency’s director general accountable for the conditions that encouraged the Zionist regime and the US to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, denouncing the “malign intent” behind Rafael Grossi’s insistence on visiting the bombed sites.
“The Parliament of Iran has voted for a halt to collaboration with the IAEA until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on his X account.
“This is a direct result of (Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency) Rafael Grossi’s regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency —a full decade ago— already closed all past issues. Through this malign action, he directly facilitated the adoption of a politically-motivated resolution against Iran by the IAEA BoG as well as the unlawful Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear sites. In an astounding betrayal of his duties, Grossi has additionally failed to explicitly condemn such blatant violations of IAEA safeguards and its Statute,” Araqchi said.
“The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs. Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent,” he added.
“Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defense of its interests, its people, and its sovereignty,” the foreign minister stated.
His comments came after the Iranian Parliament passed a bill that obligates the administration to put its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on hold.
The decision to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear agency came in response to Grossi whose biased report against Iran paved the way for a resolution that subsequently encouraged the Israeli regime to launch a war of aggression on Iran and also prompted the US to bomb three main nuclear sites of Iran in Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz.
