Iran’s president said on Thursday that Tehran would resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), only if it abandons its “double standards,” according to state media.
President Masoud Pezeshkian last week enacted a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA, and the nuclear watchdog said it had pulled its last remaining inspectors out of Iran.
Relations between Iran and the IAEA have worsened since the United States and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June, saying they wanted to prevent Tehran from developing an atomic weapon. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only and denies seeking atomic weapons.
“The continuation of Iran’s cooperation with the agency (IAEA) depends on the latter correcting its double standards regarding the nuclear file,” state media quoted Pezeshkian as telling European Council President Antonio Costa by phone.
“Any repeated aggression (against Iran) will be met with a more decisive and regrettable response,” he said.
Tehran accuses the IAEA of failing to condemn the attacks by the United States and Israel, and says the nuclear watchdog paved the way for the bombing by issuing a resolution declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
“Failure to observe the principle of impartiality in reporting is one of the examples that casts doubt on the status and credibility of the IAEA,” Pezeshkian said.
The bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities led to a 12-day war, during which Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel.
IAEA inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since the bombing campaign, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said it is his top priority.
(With inputs from Reuters)
