Iran’s president on Wednesday ordered the country to suspend its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after American and Israeli airstrikes hit its most-important nuclear facilities, likely further limiting inspectors' ability to track Tehran's program that had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.
According to AP, the order by President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, included no timetables or details about what that suspension would entail. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signalled in a CBS News interview that Tehran still would be willing to continue negotiations with the United States.
“I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,” Araghchi said, referring to Trump's comments that talks could start as early as this week. However, he added: “The doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”
Iran has limited IAEA inspections in the past as a pressure tactic in negotiating with the West — though as of right now Tehran has denied that there's any immediate plans to resume talks with the United States that had been upended by the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
Iranian state television announced Pezeshkian's order, which followed a law passed by Iran’s parliament to suspend that cooperation. The bill already received the approval of Iran's constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, on Thursday, and likely the support of the country's Supreme National Security Council, which Pezeshkian chairs.
“The government is mandated to immediately suspend all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its related Safeguards Agreement,” state television quoted the bill as saying. "This suspension will remain in effect until certain conditions are met, including the guaranteed security of nuclear facilities and scientists.”
Iran took preparations to block Strait of Hormuz: Report
It wasn’t immediately clear what that would mean for the Vienna-based IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. The agency long has monitored Iran’s nuclear program and said that it was waiting for an official communication from Iran on what the suspension meant.
On the other hand, Iran's decision drew an immediate condemnation from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
“Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA,” he said in an X post. “This is a complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments.”
Saar urged European nations that were part of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal to implement its so-called snapback clause. That would reimpose all UN sanctions on it originally lifted by Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, if one of its Western parties declares the Islamic Republic is out of compliance with it.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, and the IAEA doesn't have access to its weapons-related facilities.