Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday signed into law a bill passed by parliament last week to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — a move the United States has described as "unacceptable".
Tehran has accused the IAEA of siding with Western powers and providing justification for Israeli airstrikes, which began a day after the agency's board of governors passed a resolution accusing Iran of breaching its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
According to the new legislation, any future inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities by the IAEA must receive prior approval from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
In response, the IAEA released a statement saying it is aware of the reports and is awaiting further official clarification from Iran.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told CBS News that the recent U.S. strike on the Fordow nuclear facility caused “serious and extensive damage” to the site.
Commenting on the situation, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce urged Tehran to resume full cooperation with the IAEA without further delay.
"It is unacceptable that Iran has chosen to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it still has an opportunity to reverse course and pursue a path of peace and prosperity," Bruce told reporters during a regular briefing.
She noted that prior to the successful U.S. strikes, Iran had been amassing a stockpile of highly enriched uranium with no credible peaceful purpose.
Bruce stressed that Iran must fully comply with its obligations under the NPT, including by providing the IAEA with information on undeclared nuclear material and granting unrestricted access to the newly announced enrichment facility.
“It bears repeating: under the leadership of Donald Trump, we have made significant progress on this issue. Iran cannot and will not obtain a nuclear weapon. The President has said this repeatedly, as has the Secretary of State,” she concluded.
However, Tehran has always denied pursuing nuclear weapons, maintaining that its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes, such as energy production.
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