UN says Iran suspending IAEA cooperation ‘obviously concerning’

UNITED NATIONS: Iran’s suspension of its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is “obviously concerning,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday.

“We’ve seen the official decision, which is obviously concerning. I think the Secretary-General has been very consistent in his call for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, and, frankly, for all countries to work closely with the IAEA on nuclear issues,” he told reporters.

The reaction came as Iran earlier in the day formally halted cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, following unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

On June 25, a day after a cease-fire took hold, Iranian lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favour of the bill to suspend cooperation with the agency.

State media said Wednesday that the legislation had cleared the final hurdle and was in effect.

The text, published by Iranian media, states that the legislation aims to “ensure full support for the inherent rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran” under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and “especially uranium enrichment.”

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However, the text of the law did not specify concrete moves linked to the suspension of cooperation with the IAEA, whose inspectors have had access to declared nuclear facilities.

Following the parliament vote, the bill was approved by the Guardian Council, a body tasked with vetting legislation, before a final ratification from the presidency.

Iranian President “Masoud Pezeshkian promulgated the law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” state TV said Wednesday.

Iranian officials have sharply criticized the IAEA for what they described as the agency’s “silence” in the face of the Israeli and US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.

‘DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT’

Tehran has also lambasted the U.N. agency for a resolution adopted on June 12 that accuses Iran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.

Iranian officials said the resolution was among the “excuses” for the Israeli attacks.

On Wednesday, senior judiciary official Ali Mozaffari said that IAEA director, Rafael Grossi, should “be held accountable” for what he called “preparing the groundwork for the crime” against Iran, referring to Israel’s air raids.

Mozaffari accused Grossi of “deceptive actions and fraudulent reporting”, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim.

AFP