Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog after Israel, US strikes
Iran officially suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, a move the United States described as "unacceptable".
It came after last month's 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, which saw unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and sharply escalated tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
On June 25, a day after a ceasefire took hold, Iranian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to suspend cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA. State media confirmed on Wednesday that the legislation had now taken effect.
The law aims to "ensure full support for the inherent rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran" under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, with a particular focus on uranium enrichment, according to Iranian media.
Washington, which has been pressing Tehran to resume the negotiations that were interrupted by Israel's resort to military action on June 13, hit out at the Iranian decision.
"We'll use the word unacceptable, that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
The spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said the decision was "obviously concerning".
Separately, the Pentagon said on Wednesday that US intelligence assessments indicated that the strikes on Iran's nuclear sites set the country's atomic programme back by up to two years.
"We have degraded their programme by one to two years at least -- intel assessments inside the (Defense) Department assess that," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told journalists, later adding: "We're thinking probably closer to two years."
While IAEA inspectors have had access to Iran's declared nuclear sites, their current status is uncertain amid the suspension.
On Sunday, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said the inspectors' work had been suspended but denied there had been any threats against them or IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
He said that the "inspectors are in Iran and are safe", but "their activities have been suspended, and they are not allowed to access our sites".
- 'Deceptive and fraudulent' -
The new legislation did not specify any exact steps following the suspension.
The ISNA news agency cited lawmaker Alireza Salimi as saying that the inspectors now needed approval from Iran's Supreme National Security Council to access nuclear sites.
Separately, the Mehr news agency cited lawmaker Hamid Reza Haji Babaei as saying that Iran would stop allowing IAEA cameras in nuclear facilities, though it was unclear if this was a requirement of the new law.
After parliament passed the bill, it was approved by the Guardian Council and President Masoud Pezeshkian formally enacted the suspension on Wednesday, according to state television.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal to trigger the "snapback" mechanism and reinstate all UN sanctions on Iran.
The snapback, set to expire in October, was part of the nuclear accord that collapsed after Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018. Iran began scaling back its commitments a year later.
Iranian officials have warned that the mechanism could prompt their withdrawal from the non-proliferation treaty. Israel, widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, is not an NPT signatory.
Germany's foreign ministry spokesman Martin Giese said that Iran's move to suspend cooperation with the IAEA was a "disastrous signal".
Since the Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Tehran has sharply criticised the IAEA for its silence and condemned a June 12 UN resolution accusing Iran of non-compliance, which Iranian officials say provided a pretext for the attacks.
On Wednesday, senior judiciary official Ali Mozaffari accused Grossi of "preparing the groundwork" for Israel's raids and called for him to be held accountable, citing "deceptive actions and fraudulent reporting".
- Damage -
Iran has rejected Grossi's requests to visit bombed sites, saying they smacked of "malign intent".
Britain, France and Germany have condemned unspecified "threats" against the IAEA chief.
On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the vote to halt cooperation reflected public "concern and anger".
Israel's 12-day war killed top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists and drew waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire.
On June 22, Israel's ally the United States launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
More than 900 people were killed in Iran during the conflict, according to the judiciary.
Iran's retaliatory attacks killed 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged "serious" damage to the sites. But in a recent interview with CBS, he said: "One cannot obliterate the technology and science... through bombings."