WANA (Jun 12) – According to one of the leaked documents, Rafael Grossi, the current Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has “special relations” with the “Israeli regime”, and based on a series of other documented and official evidence, Grossi’s tenure at the Agency has marked a turning point in shifting the IAEA’s approach negatively against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

 

However, documents that Iran has extracted from the top-secret archives of the Israeli regime show that since 2016, Rafael Grossi has had close cooperation with the Israeli regime within the IAEA, and has played a role in the production and dissemination of biased reports and news published against Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities, within the framework of the implementation of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement.

 

In 2016, Rafael Grossi, who served as Argentina’s permanent representative to the IAEA and Chairman of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna, also held technical roles as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors and the former Director General of the Department of Safeguards at the Agency.

Nuclear deal negotiators pose for a photo at the UN building in Vienna, Austria.

The collection of documents shows that since 2016, efforts by international institutions, led by the IAEA, to build consensus against Iran have consistently involved close coordination between representatives of the Israeli regime and Rafael Grossi himself.

 

For instance, the above document is one among several showing that before any fabricated narrative was built against Iran, a kind of coordination was already underway between the regime and Grossi.

 

For example, only five months after the implementation of the JCPOA, the Israeli regime attempted to undermine the agreement by using the IAEA as a tool, spreading a false report about Iran’s alleged plans to use advanced centrifuges by 2027, thereby trying to create new tensions against Iran.

 

Although the IAEA, in an official letter to Iran dated July 29, denied its role as the source of this report and stated that it had no connection with the Israeli regime’s representatives, the documents indicate close coordination between Merav Zafary-Odiz, the regime’s official representative, and Grossi.

 

In one of these documents, Merav Zafary-Odiz, the permanent representative of Israel to the IAEA, in a confidential letter dated May 10, 2016, asks Grossi for an urgent meeting to discuss recent developments.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, April 16, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

What developments were sought by the Israeli regime at that time that coincided with implementing the JCPOA?

 

January 16, 2016: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms that Iran has fulfilled its nuclear commitments. Based on the agency’s report, Mohammad Javad Zarif and Federica Mogherini announced the Implementation Day, which led to the lifting of sanctions.

 

UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted in July 2015 to endorse the agreement and lift UN sanctions, comes into effect. The previous resolutions regarding Iran’s nuclear program are annulled.

 

March 9, 2016: Iran tested two different types of the medium-range ballistic missile Qadr.

 

March 14, 2016: Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, says she has raised the issue of Iran’s ballistic missile tests at a Security Council meeting, stating that the tests are inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

 

March 21, 2016: Donald Trump, as a U.S. presidential candidate, announces that he will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

 

April 22, 2016: Iranian and American officials meet in Vienna and sign a purchase agreement allowing Washington to buy 32 tons of heavy water for $8.6 million. John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, meet in New York to discuss the implementation of the agreement.

 

Following the meeting, Kerry states that Washington is working to clarify existing uncertainties among foreign banks regarding the January sanctions relief.

 

May 27, 2016: The IAEA publishes its quarterly report on Iran’s implementation of the nuclear deal. The report shows that Iran has adhered to the limitations outlined in the agreement and that inspectors have been able to access some Iranian sites through complementary access.

 

July 18, 2016: Associated Press publishes a report indicating that Iran has taken steps to acquire a new generation of advanced centrifuges for the year 2027.

 

July 29, 2016: The IAEA, in a statement, notes that it has sent a letter to Iran and emphasized that it was not the source of the leaked information regarding Iran’s plans to install advanced centrifuges in 2027.

Merav Zafary-Odiz has been the official representative of Israel to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). From the mid-2010s, particularly the years 2014 to 2016, Zafary-Odiz officially voiced Israel’s positions in the IAEA meetings and Board of Governors sessions.

 

At the time of the JCPOA, she repeatedly described Iran’s cooperation with the Agency as slow and inadequate, and accused the Agency (under Yukiya Amano’s leadership) of presenting “false information” about Iran’s nuclear program.

 

Access to Merav Zafary-Odiz’s emails shows that her special mission, in addition to close and specific coordination with Rafael Grossi to influence the Agency’s approach, was to shift global attention away from the Israeli regime’s non-peaceful nuclear program and toward Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Correspondence between the representative of the Israeli regime at the International Atomic Energy Agency and an individual named Elai Rettig. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Thus, Rafael Grossi, who took over as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on December 3, 2019, played a highly influential role in the failure of Iran’s nuclear deal (JCPOA) and in intensifying tensions between Iran and the IAEA.

 

List of Rafael Grossi’s major actions against Iran:

Changing the approach of regular IAEA reports on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and accusing Iran based on various allegations claimed by the Israeli regime, some of these reports became the basis for the Board of Governors’ resolutions against Iran.

 

Visiting Tehran and holding talks with Iranian officials under the pretext of building trust, then leaving Iran and publishing new allegations against the country, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, visited Tehran multiple times under the claim of resolving disputes (including in February 2021, March 2022, and March 2023).

 

Controversially pursuing the claim of “uranium particles found at undeclared sites”; during Grossi’s tenure, the Agency placed greater focus on allegations by the regime regarding three undeclared sites in Iran (such as Turquzabad, Varamin, and Marivan) and the detection of uranium particles. Despite Iran’s repeated reports and intelligence documents provided to the Agency, its most recent report again used these claims solely to level baseless accusations against Iran.

 

Issuing reports on increased enrichment levels in Iran and establishing a precedent in this regard were also among Grossi’s efforts to further securitize Iran’s nuclear program during a time when Iran was cooperating within the framework of the JCPOA. Even before Iran had resumed obligations under the Strategic Action Plan, Grossi announced that Iran had reached enrichment levels of 60% (and in some cases up to 83%).

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, attended an exhibition showcasing Iran’s latest achievements in nuclear technology at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on April 17, 2025. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Downplaying Iran’s cooperation beyond its usual commitments with Agency inspectors, despite 70% of the IAEA’s inspections focusing on Iran’s nuclear program, Grossi repeatedly portrayed alleged access limitations for some inspectors as a “serious blow” to the Agency’s monitoring capabilities.

 

In many cases, Iran demonstrated goodwill through technical cooperation, accepting inspectors, and even allowing the installation of cameras, yet Grossi either ignored or downplayed these efforts. For example, in 2021, Iran allowed Grossi to install special surveillance cameras at the Karaj site, but the IAEA report was still released with harsh language, which angered Iranian officials.

 

Anti-Iranian statements in international forums; despite holding a position that requires neutrality and oversight, Grossi has repeatedly echoed Israeli anti-Iranian claims in his speeches at the Board of Governors, the United Nations, and the European Parliament, and has consistently called for Iran’s full cooperation with the Agency. Grossi comments on issues beyond the IAEA’s jurisdiction, such as geopolitical and regional security matters, remarks often unrelated to nuclear monitoring.

 

Moreover, Grossi has visited Israel and met with regime officials, such as the Prime Minister. Although such trips are interpreted as part of the Agency’s working relations with member states, these visits have often marked the beginning of a new wave of pressure against Iran.

 

While Grossi’s actions are technically defined within the IAEA’s mandate, in the context of the “Western-Zionist” politicization against Iran, these actions and statements have consistently been used as a lever of pressure against the country.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi meets with Iran’s late Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran, Iran, May 6, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)