Iran has suspended its cooperation with the UN’s atomic watchdog following US airstrikes on its nuclear sites, state media has reported.
Regime-affiliated media announced this morning that President Masoud Pzeshkian had granted final approval to a new law, passed by parliament last month, to cut ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"Masoud Pezeshkian promulgated the law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” confirmed state TV.
Officials have reportedly already disconnected IAEA monitoring cameras its nuclear facilities and banned agency director Rafael Grossi from entering the country.
However, the IAEA said it had not yet received official confirmation of the decision from the Islamic Republic.
We are aware of these reports. The IAEA is awaiting further official information from Iran,” said a spokesperson for the agency.
The apparent freeze in relations follows significant US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which President Trump said had “obliterated” the country’s nuclear programme.
But it is uncertain just how extensive the damage is, with Grossi suggesting that it was “severe” but “not total” and adding that the regime could restart its campaign of uranium enrichment “in a matter of months”.
The latest satellite images also appear to show Iranian officials using excavators to try and access the secretive Fordow nuclear plant, which was targeted by 12 “bunker busting” bombs, each weighing over 13 tonnes.
Reports suggest that the entrance to the facility, buried under a mountain just south of Tehran, was sealed off but the degree of destruction inside is unknown. Roughly 400kg of already enriched material also remains unaccounted for.
Iran’s foreign ministry has ruled out any return to negotiations with Washington over its nuclear programme unless it receives a commitment that no further strikes are forthcoming. Likewise, it said that the prospect of full denuclearisation and an end to enrichment is not on the table.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC: “The level of [enrichment] can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say ‘you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment and, if you do not agree we will bomb you’, that is the law of the jungle.”
Meanwhile, in the wake of the reports of a decoupling with the IAEA, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged European nations to reimpose sanctions on Tehran under the existing 2015 nuclear deal.
He wrote on X: “The international community must act decisively now and utilize all means at its disposal to stop Iranian nuclear ambitions.
"Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA. This is a complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments.
“The international community must act decisively now and utilise all means at its disposal to stop Iranian nuclear ambitions.”
