Tensions Grow Between Iran and the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog was regularly inspecting Iranian nuclear sites until Israel began its bombing campaign on June 13. The war that followed shut the agency's inspectors out of them.
Now the watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is trying to get back in — just when Iran may be moving to kick it out entirely.
Amid simmering tensions with the agency, which some Iranian officials accuse of helping Israel justify its attacks, Iran's hardliner-dominated parliament voted on Wednesday to 'suspend' cooperation with the agency and bar its inspectors from the country, according to state news media. Though the move was so far no more than symbolic — the legislation would need approval from a higher Iranian authority before taking effect — its passage is another show of defiance from Iran.
While it may perhaps a signal that Iran will renew its nuclear ambitions despite the U.S. and Israeli strikes on its facilities, the vote could simply be a tactic to gain leverage in any new negotiations with the Trump administration over its nuclear program.
One of the I.A.E.A.'s main purposes is to monitor nuclear activity in Iran and other countries, including all those who have signed on to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The goal is to keep them from building nuclear weapons. Iran is a party to the treaty, while Israel is not. The I.A.E.A. still has some oversight in Israel, which has not confirmed or denied having nuclear weapons, but is widely believed to have them.
Under its agreement with Iran, the I.A.E.A. is supposed to inspect the nuclear facilities Iran has publicly declared, including those at Natanz and Fordo that the United States bombed over the weekend. Israeli officials say there may be other, secret nuclear sites that Iran has not told the watchdog about.
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