Iran's president halts cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog, reports say

Saudi Gazette

02-07-2025

TEHRAN — Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday ordered the country to halt its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after Israeli and US airstrikes hit its top nuclear facilities, state media reported.
Pezeshkian follows a law passed by Iran's parliament last week to suspend that cooperation, as politicians unanimously supported the move against the IAEA, according to Iranian state media.
The bill was also backed by Iran's Guardian Council.
Following the law's passage, Iran's Supreme National Security Council was tasked with overseeing the bill and its implementation.
While the council itself hasn't said anything publicly, Pezeshkian, as its head, reportedly issued an order, signalling that the bill will be implemented, but it is yet unclear how and to what extent.
Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, negotiated under then-US President Barack Obama, allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67% — enough to fuel a nuclear power plant, but far below the threshold of 90% needed for weapons-grade uranium.
It also drastically reduced Iran's stockpile of uranium, limited its use of centrifuges and relied on the IAEA to oversee Tehran's compliance through additional oversight.
But US President Donald Trump, in his first term in 2018, unilaterally withdrew Washington from the accord, insisting it wasn't tough enough and didn't address Iran's missile program or its support for militant groups in the broader Middle East. That set in motion years of tensions, including attacks at sea and on land.
Iran had been enriching up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. It also has enough of a stockpile to build multiple nuclear bombs, should it choose to do so.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the IAEA, Western intelligence agencies and others say Tehran had an organised weapons program up until 2003.
Meanwhile, Director General of IAEA Rafael Grossi said Iran may be able to restart its uranium enrichment in a "matter of months".
"The capacities they have are there. They can have,... in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium," Grossi said in an interview with CBS News on Saturday.
"But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there."
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that sanctions on Iran could be lifted if they agree to move forward in a peaceful manner.
"We have the sanctions. But if they do what they have to, if they can be peaceful and if they show us that they won't do any more damage, I would revoke them, and it would make a big difference," Trump told Fox News.
Trump explained that he turned down Iran's uranium enrichment request during negotiations, stating, "I wouldn't have let that happen", and then justified the bombing of Iran's nuclear plant by saying "Iran cannot have the nuclear weapon, and they were weeks away from having it".
On 22 June, the US launched multiple joint attacks with Israel against three of Iran's nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Trump had said the facilities were "totally obliterated" and the attacks had set Iran's nuclear programme back "by decades". — Euronews