Iran has banned the IAEA chief from accessing nuclear facilities and suspended co-operation with the agency
The IAEA and Iran have co-operated since 1974 after the country joined the NPT. The agency's inspectors could visit nuclear facilities for inspections.
Iran will no longer allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Raphael Grossi to visit its nuclear facilities. This was stated by the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament Hamid Reza Haji Babai in a commentary to the Mehr news agency.
According to the politician, the recent 12-day war was a continuation of years of pressure from the US.
This is an enmity against the Iranian people that has been going on for 47 years. The essence of this enmity is not missiles or nuclear programme - it is directed against the people of Iran," Haji Babai noted.
He added that Tehran will also not agree to the installation of CCTV cameras at these sites.
on 25 June, Iran's parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.
The development of Iran's nuclear programme began in the 1950s with the participation of Western countries. Iran joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970 and signed an agreement with the IAEA in 1974, allowing the agency to inspect nuclear facilities. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the programme was temporarily frozen but later resumed. In 2003, the IAEA found traces of uranium enrichment and Tehran admitted undeclared activities. After a temporary halt of enrichment work, Iran restarted the process in 2005, leading to sanctions.
In 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was concluded, under which Iran pledged to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. But in 2018, the US withdrew from the agreement, and in 2019 Iran resumed nuclear development and began reneging on a number of agreements with the IAEA. Inspectors have been restricted from 2021 onwards.
Before the recent military escalation, the US and Iran tried to renew the nuclear deal, but without success.