Iran decries ‘destructive’ conduct of IAEA chief

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Tehran halted cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog due to what he called the agency chief’s “destructive” behaviour towards the Islamic republic, his office said on Monday.

“The action taken by parliament members... is a natural response to the unjustified, unconstructive, and destructive conduct of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Pezeshkian told Macron in a phone call late Sunday, according to a presidency statement.

On Wednesday, Iranian lawmakers voted in favour of a bill to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, citing Israel’s June 13 attack on the Islamic republic and later strikes by the United States on nuclear facilities.

A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took hold on June 24.

Since the start of the war with Israel, Iranian officials have sharply criticised the agency for failing to condemn the strikes.

Iran has also criticised the watchdog for passing a resolution on June 12 accusing it of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.

In a Sunday post on X, Macron said he called for “respect for the ceasefire” and a return to negotiations to address “ballistic and nuclear issues.”

He further called for “the swift resumption of the IAEA’s work in Iran to ensure full transparency.”

On Monday, France, Germany, and Britain condemned what they called “threats” against the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi after Iran rejected its request to visit nuclear facilities bombed during the war.

None specified which threats they were referring to, but Iran’s ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper recently claimed documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed.

Iran has said Grossi’s request to visit bombed sites signalled “malign intent” but insisted that no threats were posed against Grossi or the agency’s inspectors.

On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Iranian parliament’s decision to halt cooperation with the IAEA reflected the “concern and anger of the Iranian public opinion.”

He further criticised the United States and European powers for maintaining what he described as a “political approach” toward Iran’s nuclear programme during his weekly press conference.

Baqaei also questioned how the safety of IAEA inspectors could be ensured while the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities -- targeted by Israel and the United States during the 12-day war -- remains unknown.

“One aspect of this issue is how to ensure the safety and security of the agency’s inspectors, in a situation where there is still no accurate assessment of the severity of the damage,” he said.

Iran’s judiciary said at least 935 people were killed in the country during its 12-day war with Israel, state media reported Monday, nearly a week since a ceasefire took hold.

Among the dead were 38 children and 132 women, the spokesperson, Asghar Jahangir, said.

The death toll was a sharp increase from a previous Iranian health ministry tally of 610 killed in Iran before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday last week.

Jahangir also revised the number of people killed in an Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin Prison to 79, up from 71.

Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to Iran since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel’s “act of aggression had led to many war crimes”. He said Iran would transfer evidence to international organisations which he said should hold Israel to account.

“The Zionist regime’s (Israel) action was done without any reason or justification, therefore we do not believe in separating military and civilian (victims),” Baghaei told reporters at a regular press briefing.

He said any “martyr or destroyed building is an example of war crimes.”

Agencies