Iran has ended its cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following President Masoud Pezeshkian’s signing of a bill passed by the Iranian parliament last year. According to reports, the legislation prohibits any future inspections by the IAEA unless explicitly authorized by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
This development comes in the wake of aerial conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, during which the U.S. reportedly bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. While former U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were neutralized, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, has maintained that the country’s nuclear infrastructure cannot be destroyed by airstrikes.
Speaking on VOC’s airwaves, Tehran-based journalist Alireza Kamandi noted that many Iranians believe international regulatory bodies are colluding with Western powers to undermine the stability of the Middle Eastern nation.
“The IAEA unfortunately did not work in a way that is beneficial, and it did not follow its duty well because the Iranians believe that the international entity was in the hands of the Israeli and United States administrations,” stated Kamandi.
Kamandi further explained that a recently released IAEA report has only strained relations further. He argued that the report — which claimed Iran could enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels within a month — was politically motivated and served as justification for heightened aggression from the West.
“The latest report of the IAEA led to the declaration that calls it an imposed war on Iran because the report of the head of the IAEA, Mr. Grossi, was a politically motivated report to give the green light to Israel to raise the aggression on Iran,” added Kamandi.
Listen to the full interview here:
