Iran refuses to inspect its nuclear sites until IAEA provides new guidelines after bombings
Iran has said it will not comply with any request from the U.N. nuclear watchdog to inspect its bombed nuclear sites, citing a lack of established regulations for inspecting facilities damaged by military strikes.
In June, Israel and the United States carried out major military strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, damaging key sites such as Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan. The exact state of Iranian facilities after the strikes remains unclear.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should officially clarify whether such attacks are permitted. If not, he added, the agency should condemn the strikes and provide clear procedures for postwar inspections.
“If there are established procedures for the post-war situation, the Agency should announce them so that we can act accordingly,” Eslami said, according to the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA).
“But if there is none, our request – which we have formally communicated to them – is that the measures to be taken be clearly defined and codified if a nuclear installation registered with and under the safeguards of the Agency is subject to military attack,” he added.
“Until this issue is clarified, political and psychological pressures, as well as irrelevant demands to re-inspect the bombed facilities and complete the enemy’s operations, will not be accepted and will not receive any response,” Eslami said, according to IRNA.
In late November, the IAEA called on Iran to cooperate fully and promptly, authorize verification of nuclear materials and comply with international safeguards and UN Security Council requirements, while continuing its diplomatic engagement.
At a United Nations Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation on Tuesday, the deputy head of the European Union delegation, Hedda Samson, called on Iran to provide the IAEA with updated and verifiable declarations detailing the quantity, location and status of its nuclear materials and related activities.
France’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Jay Dharmadhikari, said Iran’s failure to implement its “international obligations related to its nuclear program constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security.”
In October, CNN reported signs that Iran is accelerating the rebuilding of its ballistic missile program, despite the recent reintroduction of United Nations sanctions banning arms sales to the country and ballistic missile activity.
Eslami reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program remains peaceful and focuses on developing the country’s technological and scientific capabilities.
