The risk of spreading radioactive substances near Iranian nuclear facilities and the explosion of munitions left over from the recently concluded open phase of the Iran-Israel conflict with Israel is “serious”, which is one of the reasons for the change in Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
In late June, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the Iranian authorities had issued a law suspending the Islamic Republic's cooperation with the IAEA. He called the agency “a protector and servant” of Israel and stated that it is impossible to continue cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of Iranian nuclear facilities is guaranteed.
„Our (Iranian - ed. ed.) nuclear facilities were subjected to a military attack. Now the proximity to these facilities poses various dangers. There is a serious danger of the spread of radioactive substances... (and - ed. ed.) from the explosion of ammunition left over from the war (with Israel - ed. ed.)“, the minister said during his speech at a meeting with diplomatic representatives of several countries at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
According to him, it is necessary to consider the issue related to the country's security, whether IAEA inspectors will be able to approach Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as the pressing issue of the safety of the inspectors themselves. In this regard, Araghchi noted, Iran's cooperation with the IAEA "will take on a new form." Earlier, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Majlis Hamid-Reza Haji-Babayeh said that the Iranian authorities would no longer allow the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to visit the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities and install cameras there, as Tehran had seen information about these facilities in documents received from Israel.