WANA (Jul 04) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on Friday that its team of inspectors has left Iran and returned to Vienna.

 

The inspectors, who had been stationed in Tehran during recent military tensions, departed the country and are now back at the agency’s headquarters.

 

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, in a statement, stressed the urgent need to resume monitoring and verification activities in Iran and called for the immediate start of technical discussions with Tehran on how to carry out these operations.

 

He emphasized that cooperation with Iran is essential for the IAEA to play its role in safeguarding international security.

 

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal claimed that the IAEA pulled out its inspectors from Iran due to “security concerns.” According to the report, this move has severed the agency’s direct physical access to Iran.

 

The paper also alleged that although international flights have resumed from Iran’s main airports, the inspectors left the country by land, using vehicles instead of planes.

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

The inspectors had been in Tehran since the Israeli strike on June 13 but were reportedly unable to visit nuclear sites during their stay.

 

Their departure comes amid controversy over a vague and allegedly biased report by Grossi on Iran’s nuclear program. That report later served as the basis for a resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors, which Israeli officials have used to justify their attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

 

In response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has formally enacted a new law titled “Mandatory Suspension of Cooperation with the IAEA”, passed by the Iranian Parliament on June 24 and approved by the Guardian Council on the same day. The law has been officially communicated to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the Supreme National Security Council, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

This decision follows aggressive attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure—attacks that, according to Iranian officials, were enabled by Grossi’s politicized report and constitute a violation of the UN Charter. In response, Iran has moved to reassess and scale back its cooperation with the IAEA.