Russia has insisted that Iran continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, a day after Iran's parliament approved a bill to end that cooperation, Reuters reports.
Tehran's decision comes in response to joint air strikes by Israel and the United States on Iranian nuclear sites, which they say are aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic categorically denies such intentions, insisting that its nuclear program is for entirely peaceful purposes.
"We are interested in continuing cooperation between Iran and the IAEA," Lavrov stressed at a press conference, specifying that the decision of the Iranian parliament is not binding, since it does not have executive power.
Russia, which maintains a strategic partnership with Iran, strongly condemned the attacks by Washington and Tel Aviv. "Everyone must respect the position of the Supreme Leader of Iran, who has repeatedly stated that the country does not have and will not have a nuclear weapons program," Lavrov added.
Relations between Iran and the IAEA have been strained for years. The agency has repeatedly expressed concern about limited access to key nuclear sites, uncertainties around enriched uranium and Tehran's lack of transparency. Although in 2015 Iran reached a nuclear deal with six world powers, but it was broken after the US withdrew in 2018, leading to a gradual deterioration in dialogue between the countries and the IAEA.
The new decision by the Iranian parliament risks further deepening the crisis between Tehran and the international community and calling into question the future of any control over the country's nuclear ambitions.