WANA (Oct 30) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Thursday criticized recent comments by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying his statements paved the way for the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and urged him to refrain from making baseless claims about the country’s nuclear program.

 

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Baghaei said, “Rafael Grossi is fully aware that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful. The disastrous consequences of his remarks created the conditions for the American-Israeli aggression against Iran. Grossi must avoid unfounded statements regarding our nuclear file.”

 

Baghaei stressed that the IAEA chief’s comments had serious and dangerous repercussions, accusing him of contributing to the escalation of tensions in the region.

 

On Wednesday, Grossi claimed that while Iran is not actively enriching uranium, the IAEA had recently observed new activity at Iranian nuclear sites — remarks that Tehran says are politically motivated and misleading.

 

Cooperation between Iran and the IAEA had been suspended following unlawful attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities. In response, Iran’s parliament passed legislation in July requiring the government to halt cooperation with the agency until specific conditions outlined in the law are met.

 

Subsequently, Tehran and the IAEA engaged in talks to determine how cooperation might resume. On September 8, both sides reached an understanding regarding future engagement “in light of the new situation” created by the unlawful attacks on Iran’s civilian nuclear infrastructure.

 

However, Europe’s decision to reimpose the UN Security Council resolutions previously lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal (the JCPOA) — through the so-called snapback mechanism — has effectively frozen implementation of that agreement.

WANA - Arak nuclear facility after U.S. strike

Arak nuclear facility after the U.S. strike. Social media/ WANA News Agency