Iran files complaint against IAEA chief for bias, ignoring aggression
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Iran lodges a formal complaint at the UN against IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, accusing him of breaching neutrality and ignoring Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities under agency safeguards.
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a joint press briefing with head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, November 14, 2024. (AP)
The public remarks made by Rafael Grossi on the eve of the Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran constitute a glaring violation of the principle of neutrality required in his position, Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, asserted on Friday.
Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had remarked that “nuclear sites must never be attacked,” yet pointedly refrained from condemning the Israeli aggression on Iran’s nuclear facility, an omission that Tehran views as tacit complicity.
Iravani filed a formal complaint against Grossi, in a letter to the UN Security Council, voicing deep concern over Grossi's grave dereliction of duty, as well as his failure to fulfill his legal responsibilities under the agency's statute.
The Iranian diplomat further noted that Grossi not only failed to condemn the attacks on nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, but also disregarded the open acknowledgment by "Israel" of its ongoing assaults.
IAEA’s legal obligations questioned
Iravani also emphasized that Grossi’s public comments contradict the agency’s foundational legal duties. He argued that the Director General's conduct following the Israeli aggression reflects persistent shortcomings in adhering to neutrality, objectivity, and professional standards.
Grossi's continued silence, Iravani warned, as well as his failure to take concrete measures against such violations, could be regarded as passive complicity. He condemned the IAEA head's inaction as a dangerous precedent in the face of an "unprecedented act of aggression in the history of the IAEA."
It is worth noting that Iran's Ministry of Intelligence had obtained a series of documents that reveal covert coordination between IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and "Israel", a collaboration Iranian officials say was designed to politicize the agency’s oversight of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
According to reports by Fars News Agency, the documents expose a long-standing partnership between Grossi and Israeli officials, showing that the IAEA chief repeatedly acted in alignment with Israeli directives regarding Iran’s nuclear file.
The unveiled documents implicate Merav Zafary-Odiz, "Israel’s" permanent representative to the IAEA from 2014 to 2016, as playing a pivotal role in advancing Tel Aviv’s position within the agency. According to the documents, she regularly criticized Iran’s cooperation during Board of Governors meetings and accused the previous IAEA chief, Yukiya Amano, of disseminating “inaccurate” information about Iran’s nuclear progress.
Zafary-Odiz also maintained a direct line to Grossi, including an urgent meeting request dated May 10, 2016, to discuss shifting developments. Iranian media claim this correspondence is part of a broader pattern of coordinated narrative-setting that aligned IAEA priorities with Israeli talking points, while ignoring “Israel’s” own unmonitored nuclear arsenal.
