Tehran (TDI): In a move that can still boil up tensions over Iran’s nuclear drive, the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran has approved the first reading of a bill to suspend all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The development was reported by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The bill, if passed, will suspend inspections, reporting, and camera monitoring of Iran’s nuclear sites. Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesman for the committee, said the bill aims at “suspending all cooperation with the IAEA” unless the security of Iran’s nuclear sites is ensured.
On June 22, the United States attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, jumping directly in an escalation between Iran and Israel. Now that a ceasefire has been announced by Trump, Iran’s view point regarding ties with the IAEA remains the same.
In conflict with Israel, it hinted at various points the intent to stop cooperating with the Agency, as Israel was targeting its nuclear and military installations. It yet remains unclear how much damage or radiation exposure has been caused by these attacks.
Read More: Israel Says Yes to Ceasefire, Iran Says No
Iran’s Health Ministry reported more than 400 dead in the US strikes, which hit major enrichment facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow; sites verified by the IAEA for having major uranium reserves, enriched to 60%.
During the emergency board meeting of the IAEA yesterday, Director General Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain missing nuclear material and to fulfill its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In response, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, said the US attacks had delivered “a fundamental and irreparable blow” to the global nuclear monitoring system.
The bill, however, still needs complete parliamentary approval in a plenary session. The world is now closely observing how Tehran will react and what will be the final fate of the bill.
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