WANA (Sep 11) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has strongly criticized the performance of Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying the agency’s technical reports must not be turned into political tools to justify war or pave the way for military aggression against Iran.

 

Baghaei made the remarks on Friday in response to the adoption of an anti-Iran resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors, saying the agency’s director general had turned the technical reporting of an institution whose credibility rests on expertise, impartiality and independence into “political justification for warmongering.”

 

He said that when IAEA reports, instead of resolving ambiguities, become a basis for promoting narratives of threat and building political and legal cases against a country, the line between technical monitoring and paving the way for military aggression is dangerously blurred.

 

The Iranian diplomat stressed that the issue goes beyond damage to the credibility of the IAEA director general, warning that it undermines the agency’s standing as an impartial and independent authority.

 

Baghaei further warned that when the IAEA’s technical and institutional credibility is sacrificed to political agendas, the agency risks becoming a tool for legitimizing and facilitating aggression. He described the situation as a “deep institutional failure” and said the IAEA must not become a political accomplice in laying the groundwork for an unlawful war.

 

He also argued that accountability for military aggression and war crimes should not be limited to those who order or directly carry out attacks. According to Baghaei, those who knowingly contribute to creating political and legal justifications for aggression must also bear responsibility for their actions.

 

Baghaei stressed that those who present flawed assessments as credible grounds for coercive measures, thereby creating the conditions for aggression or portraying it as legitimate, cannot evade responsibility for its consequences.

 

He concluded by saying that an institution tasked with helping safeguard international peace and security “must never become part of the chain of producing pretexts for war.”