Iran bars IAEA chief Grossi from nuclear facility inspections
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Tehran announces end of cooperation with the IAEA, citing leaked facility data in Israeli documents and barring Grossi from inspecting nuclear sites amid post-ceasefire tensions.
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Iran has officially ended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), barring its Director General, Raphael Grossi, from accessing Iranian nuclear facilities or placing surveillance cameras there. The announcement was made by Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, on Saturday.
"We will no longer give Grossi permission to be present at [Iran's] nuclear facilities and install cameras [there] because we saw information about our facilities in documents received from ... the Israeli regime," Haji Babaei told ISNA news agency.
The move follows Iran's discovery of sensitive facility data reportedly found in documents allegedly obtained by the Israeli regime. Tehran has accused the IAEA of failing to protect the integrity of its monitoring, resulting in a breach that compromises national security.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized Grossi’s interest in visiting sites hit during recent US and Israeli strikes, calling it "pointless" and possibly malicious. A day earlier, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that Tehran had suspended its legal cooperation with the IAEA, describing the agency as "Israel's protector and servant."
The decision comes after a dramatic escalation of tensions on June 22, when the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. In retaliation, Tehran launched a missile attack on the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
IAEA leaked to 'Israel' confidential communications with Iran: Fars
Moreover, an examination of obtained documents has revealed that Iran’s official and confidential communications with the IAEA, containing sensitive nuclear information, were funneled to the espionage agencies of the Israeli occupation regime through covert channels, Fars News Agency reported.
According to an informed source speaking to the agency, “These documents clearly show that instead of playing a neutral role, the IAEA has become an instrument serving the objectives of the Zionist regime.”
This is not the first time the IAEA has come under scrutiny. Previous reports have indicated that the disclosure of names of Iranian nuclear scientists through the IAEA had led to their assassinations in targeted operations attributed to the Israeli occupation regime, Fars indicated.
Read more: Iran advanced nucl. state; program undestroyable militarily: Grossi
