❓WHAT HAPPENED: Iran suspended its cooperation with the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following the ratification of a new law.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the IAEA, and Israeli officials.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The legislation was signed on July 2, following airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last month.
💬KEY QUOTE: “An international treaty, of course, takes precedence. You cannot invoke an internal law not to abide with an international treaty,” insisted IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
🎯IMPACT: Iran has put conditions on resuming cooperation while signaling hesitation to reengage in talks with the U.S. on its nuclear program.
Iran has suspended its cooperation with the United Nations‘ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s approving legislation ending the Islamic Republic’s collaboration with the agency. The ratification occurred on July 2, following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month.
Iran claims its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes, but the IAEA said it had been enriching uranium to near-weapons grade in violation of its obligations prior to Israel’s strikes. These claimed the lives of 14 Iranian nuclear scientists, according to the Israelis.
The Iranians claim they will continue to work within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but this requires cooperation with the IAEA.
“That implies that they have to work with the agency,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. “An international treaty, of course, takes precedence. You cannot invoke an internal law not to abide with an international treaty,” he continued. “But Iran is not saying that at the moment, and I think this is constructive.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said Iran will not reengage without assurances “that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations,” although he added that the “doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”
After 12 days of conflict, Iran and Israel agreed to an uneasy ceasefire orchestrated by the Trump administration, which has held so far.
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