Iran is suspending cooperation with the United Nations-sponsored atomic energy agency in the wake of major U.S. strikes against Tehran’s nuclear program, Iranian state media reported Wednesday.
The Islamic Republic will no longer comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the primary arm used to monitor Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities for decades, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency. The law, which ends IAEA access to Iran’s nuclear facilities, passed unanimously in Iran’s parliament, marking the nation’s increased retrenchment in the light of U.S. and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities in June.
Iran said it would keep the suspension in effect until the safety of its nuclear scientists and facilities is guaranteed, according to an Associated Press translation of Iranian state television. Israeli forces have already eliminated many of Iran’s top nuclear technical minds in addition to crippling various Iranian nuclear assets with American help.
While President Donald Trump has claimed that the U.S. “obliterated” the nuclear sites in Iran, damage assessments remain ongoing to determine the full extent of the damage. The administration, along with various other U.S. and Israeli officials, vehemently disputed a leaked preliminary report from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) that suggested the damage to the nuclear program was minimal.
The DIA itself characterized the report as a “low confidence” assessment.
The IAEA had been monitoring Iran’s nuclear capabilities for years, and despite its efforts, Iran continued to enrich uranium beyond civilian levels relatively unimpeded. The U.S. strikes in mid-June were the culmination of decades of threats from the U.S. that it would intervene if Iran did not reach a deal on its nuclear program.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the move, saying in an X post Wednesday that the Iranian rejection of the IAEA amounts to a “complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments,” according to an AP translation.
Iran has not completely closed its doors to negotiations, although Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi told CBS News Tuesday that Tehran would “need more time” before it comes to the table with the U.S. and Israel.
“In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations,” Araghchi told CBS News.
Trump has said he reserves the right to strike Iran again if it continues attempting to create nuclear weapons.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Author: Wallace White
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