Iran demands IAEA clarify its position before inspecting bombed sites

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEA), speaks at the opening of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on 15 September 2025 - REUTERS/ LISA LEUTHENE
Amine Saidi
24 de enero de 2026 (14:00 h.)
Tags
Iran
The head of Iran's nuclear programme criticises the supervisory body for bowing to pressure from Israel and the United States
  1. Criticism of external pressure and response to Rafael Grossi
  2. Request for a specific protocol for damaged facilities
  3. Background at the IAEA and assessment of inspections in Iran

Mohammad Eslami, Iran's former Minister of Roads and Urban Development, pointed out that, until now, inspections have been limited to facilities that were not damaged.

The UN nuclear watchdog must clarify its position on the US and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year before authorising inspectors to access those sites, the head of the country's atomic programme said, according to Iranian media reports on Friday.

Criticism of external pressure and response to Rafael Grossi

Mohammad Eslami said that, so far, inspections have been limited to undamaged sites and criticised the watchdog for allowing Israeli and US pressure to influence its actions. Eslami made the remarks in response to International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi, who said on Tuesday that the stalemate over inspections ‘cannot last indefinitely’.

Grossi has not explicitly condemned or criticised the attacks, nor has he formally established a protocol for inspecting damaged facilities. Access to the attacked sites requires ‘a specific protocol,’ Eslami said, adding, ‘when a military attack occurs and there are environmental risks, it is necessary to define it and design a guideline.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami, and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi attend a meeting at the World Atomic Week international forum dedicated to the global nuclear industry and related fields in Moscow, Russia, on 25 September 2025 - Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

Request for a specific protocol for damaged facilities

‘The agency needs to clarify its position on military attacks on nuclear facilities that have been registered by the agency and are under its supervision so that we can understand what role they play,’ Eslami told reporters in Tehran on Thursday, according to state television.

He said Tehran submitted a statement to the IAEA General Conference last September demanding a ban on attacks on nuclear facilities. However, it was not included on the agenda and was ignored, he said. ‘It is unrealistic, unprofessional and unfair that, due to pressure from Israel and the United States, it is putting pressure on us,’ Eslami said.

File photo, released by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran on 6 November 2019, shows the interior of the Fordow uranium conversion plant in Qom, northern Iran - PHOTO/ ATOMIC ENERGY ORGANISATION OF IRAN

Background at the IAEA and assessment of inspections in Iran

Grossi told Reuters on Tuesday that the IAEA had inspected all 13 declared nuclear facilities in Iran that were not attacked last June, but had been unable to inspect any of the three key sites that were bombed: Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

Grossi told Reuters on Tuesday that the IAEA had inspected all 13 declared nuclear facilities in Iran that were not attacked last June, but had been unable to inspect any of the three key sites that were bombed: Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

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Iran