Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (2005-2009) believes that Washington should ask Russia to convince Iran to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enter its nuclear facilities.
“I am concerned that we should continue to act, maybe we should even ask Russia to tell Iran that it is time to allow the IAEA into the facilities so that we can investigate on the spot what Iran is doing“, she said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow hopes for continued cooperation between Iran and the IAEA. According to him, Russia is interested in “everyone respecting the repeated statements of the Supreme Leader of Iran that Iran does not have and will not have plans to create nuclear weapons“.
On June 25, members of the Iranian parliament approved the text of a bill to suspend the country's cooperation with the IAEA.
On June 26, the Iranian Guardian Council approved the document. Now it must be sent to the country's president for signature. As explained by the speaker of the parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran has decided to temporarily suspend its interaction with the agency, since it protects Israel and “prepares the ground for war“.