Iran's parliament approves bill ending IAEA cooperation after US strikes
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A flag with the logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) waves in front of the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
DUBAI - Iran's parliament approved a bill on Wednesday to suspend cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, state-affiliated news outlet Nournews reported.
The move follows an air war with Israel in which Iran's longtime enemy said it wanted to prevent Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.
The bill, which must be approved by Iran's unelected Guardian Council to become law, stipulates that any future inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would need approval by the Supreme National Security Council.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted by state media as also saying Iran would accelerate its civilian nuclear programme.
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says an IAEA resolution this month declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations paved the way for Israel's attacks.
Qalibaf was quoted as saying the IAEA had refused even to appear to condemn the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and "has put its international credibility up for sale."
He said that "for this reason, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran will suspend its cooperation with the Agency until the security of the nuclear facilities is guaranteed, and move at a faster pace with the country's peaceful nuclear programme."
Parliament's national security committee approved the bill's general outline this week and the committee's spokesperson said the bill would suspend the installation of surveillance cameras, inspections and filing of reports to the IAEA.
The IAEA did not immediately comment on the Iranian parliament's approval of the bill. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he was seeking the return of inspectors to Iranian sites including the plants where it was enriching uranium until Israel launched strikes on June 13.
The full extent of the damage done to nuclear sites during the Israeli attacks and U.S. bombing of underground Iranian nuclear facilities is not yet clear.
"I think that our view on our nuclear programme and the non-proliferation regime will witness changes, but it is not possible to say in what direction," Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Qatar's Al-Araby Al-Jadeed this week.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Timothy Heritage // REUTERS)
