Iran must "seriously improve" its cooperation with UN inspectors to avoid escalating tensions with the West. This was stated by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, quoted by "Reuters" and the "Financial Times".
He pointed out that while the IAEA had carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since the military action with Israel in June, it had not been granted access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.
In October, Grossi said that movement had been detected near Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, but that "this does not mean that there is enrichment activity".
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei subsequently stressed that Grossi was "fully aware of the peaceful nature" of Iran's nuclear program and should not express "unfounded opinions" on the issue.
Iranian officials have accused the IAEA of providing justification for the bombing of Israel, which began a day after the agency's board voted to declare Iran in violation of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Grossi said that while the agency is trying to be understanding about the "unequal" relationship with Iran, the country still has to comply with it.
"You can't say, 'I'm staying within the NPT' and then not comply," he stressed.
"You can't expect the IAEA to say, 'Okay, because there was a war, you're in a different category.' Otherwise, I'll have to announce that I've lost all visibility of this material," Grossi noted.