The Iranian president ordered the country to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday after U.S. and Israeli air strikes reached the most important nuclear facility, which could further limit inspectors’ ability to track Tehran’s plans, which has enriched uranium to near weapon level.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s order does not include a timetable or details about the suspension.
Iran’s state television announced the order of Masoud Pezeshkian, which follows laws passed by the Iranian parliament to suspend the cooperation. The bill has been approved by the Iranian Constitutional Oversight Board on Thursday and may be supported by the Supreme National Security Council of Pezshki Chair.
There is no timetable or details about what the suspension needs.
“Under the NPT and Related Safeguards Agreement, the government has the right to immediately suspend all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” state television said. “This moratorium will remain in effect until certain conditions are met, including nuclear facilities and the assurance of safety by scientists.”
It is unclear what this means for the Vienna-based IAEA, the United Nations Nuclear Monitoring Agency. The agency has long been monitoring Iran’s nuclear program and said it is awaiting formal communication from Iran on the meaning of the suspension.
Ceasefire between Israel and Iran – President Donald Trump’s business remains, temporarily holding onto the missile strike for nearly two weeks, according to the White House. Andrew Chang broke the point in what Trump called the “12th-day war” timeline to explain why all three countries claim victory. Getty Images provided by images, Canadian Media and Reuters.
Iran’s ruling was immediately condemned by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
“Iran just released a scandal announcement about the suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” he said in a post X. “This is a complete abandonment of all international nuclear obligations and commitments.”
Saar urged European countries to reach part of the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran to implement its so-called seizure clause. If one of its Western parties declares the Islamic Republic not in line with the Islamic Republic, it will re-enable all UN sanctions lifted by Tehran’s nuclear deal with the world’s major powers.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-weapon country in the Middle East, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has no access to weapons-related facilities.
Check Scaling After 2018
Under the 2015 agreement, Iran agreed to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter its nuclear program more. This includes permanent installation of cameras and sensors in the nuclear site. These cameras sprayed special blue paint inside the metal casing, showing any attempt to tamper with it, taking still images of sensitive locations.
Other devices, known as online enrichment monitors, measure the level of uranium enrichment at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran.
The IAEA also regularly sends inspectors to Iranian sites for investigation, sometimes testing at IAEA Labs in Austria. Others monitor Iranian sites through satellite images.
U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from Washington in the first semester of 2018, insisting that it was not difficult enough and that there was no solution to Iran’s missile program or support for militant groups in the wider Middle East.
In the years since the decision, Iran has restricted IAEA inspections and blocked the agency from accessing camera lenses. It also deleted the camera. At one point, Iran accused IAEA inspectors of testing positive for explosive nitrates, which the agency proposed.
Site damage assessment continues
The IAEA has been in talks with Iran for years to restore full access to its inspectors. Although Tehran has not approved it, it has not completely abandoned the inspectors. Analysts see it as part of a broader strategy to use its nuclear program as a bargaining with the West.
Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67% – enough to promote nuclear power plants, but well below the 90% threshold required for weapon-grade uranium. It also significantly reduced Iran’s uranium stockpile, limited the use of centrifuges, and relied on the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor Tehran’s compliance with additional supervision.
In May, the International Atomic Energy Agency report showed that Iran’s growth reached 60%. If it chooses to do so, it also has enough reserves to build multiple nuclear bombs. Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Israel began a ongoing air strike campaign on June 13 against Iranian targets, including its nuclear sites, and targeted several physicists and scientists in the country who allegedly worked in nuclear programs.
A few days later, the United States participated in a military campaign, and a strike against the nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanza and Isfahan, where U.S. B-2 bombers used Bunker-Buster bombs in Fordow, a site built at the foot of a mountain about 100 kilometers southwest of Tehran.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the Associated Press show Iranian officials may check the losses in Furdo on Monday. The truck can be seen in the image, as well as at least one crane and excavator for the tunnel.
Iran opens talks at some point
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS News in an interview published Tuesday that its facilities were “serious and severely damaged” but “no one knew it was happening in Fordow.”
The strike was a round of talks on a new nuclear deal, with months between Washington and Tehran officials. Araghchi tells CBS “the door of diplomacy will never close”, the United States
With Iran being bombed for nearly two weeks, it fired 550 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation, killing 28 people.
Iran said the Israeli attack killed 935 “Iranian citizens”, including 38 children and 102 women. But Iran has a long history of turmoil around political considerations surrounding lower deaths.
The Washington-based group of human rights activists provided detailed casualties for multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, killing 1,190 people, including 436 civilians and 435 members of the security force. The group said the attack caused another 4,475 people.
