Iran must make a serious improvement in its cooperation with United Nations nuclear inspectors to prevent further escalation with Western powers, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief said, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Rafael Grossi told the newspaper that although the IAEA has conducted roughly a dozen inspections in Iran since its June conflict with Israel, inspectors have not been allowed to access key nuclear sites -- including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan -- which were bombed during US airstrikes.
The agency chief said the IAEA was maintaining dialogue with Tehran despite “bumpy” relations but warned that Iran remained bound by its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“You cannot say, ‘I remain within the non-proliferation treaty,’ and then not comply with obligations,” Grossi was quoted as saying. “Otherwise, what I will have to do is report that I have lost all visibility of this material.”
Grossi added that while some movement had been detected near Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles in October, it did “not imply that there is activity on enrichment.”
Iranian officials dismissed his comments at the time, accusing the IAEA of spreading “unfounded opinions.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Grossi was “fully aware of the peaceful nature” of Iran’s nuclear program.
Tehran has also blamed the IAEA for allegedly giving Israel a pretext to attack its facilities, after the agency’s board voted in June to declare Iran in violation of its NPT commitments.
Western diplomats have voiced growing concern over the IAEA’s limited visibility into Iran’s nuclear activities following the strikes and subsequent restrictions on inspections.
