Tehran - BORNA - Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, stated in an interview with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the agency’s staff are no longer permanently stationed in the country. When asked about the current status of inspector presence in Iran, he replied, "At the moment, no."
Grossi clarified that this does not mean the IAEA has completely withdrawn from Iran. "The volume of inspection activities has decreased. We dispatch inspectors when a specific mission needs to be carried out, and they return once the work is completed," he explained. "Previously, the level of cooperation was such that you would always see four, five, or even ten IAEA staff moving between sites. Today, the situation is different."
On November 20, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution demanding that Iran provide information "without delay" regarding its enriched uranium stockpiles and nuclear facilities that have been targeted in attacks. Reza Najafi, Iran’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, described the resolution as "unconstructive and political."
Following this, on November 20, Iran officially announced the end of the "Cairo Agreement" with the IAEA. This agreement, signed in Egypt in September, established a framework for bilateral cooperation in light of attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. However, Tehran decided to withdraw from the agreement after the reactivation of illegal UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against Iran. Iran has stated that it is ready to consider proposals for a new agreement, with the format of future cooperation to be determined by the "Supreme National Security Council."
According to the Russian report, the cooperation framework was initially drafted after Tehran passed a law in July that limited the level of cooperation with the Agency, including the potential expulsion of inspectors. At that time, inspectors monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities left the country.
Despite the current constraints, IAEA staff visited several nuclear facilities this past autumn, including the Tehran Research Reactor—used for nuclear medicine development—and the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which is being constructed in partnership with Russia. The last visit took place in early November.
However, the report indicates that other facilities, including those in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, which were targeted in military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime, have not been visited by IAEA representatives.
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