Nuclear inspectors leave Iran
A team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has departed from Iran, the agency announced on Friday.
Tehran suspended cooperation with the UN-affiliated nuclear watchdog following Israeli and US attacks on its nuclear facilities last month.
The inspectors will “return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said in a statement.
Tehran cooperated with the international watchdog for years, maintaining that it was enriching uranium for civilian use only. Israel has claimed that Tehran was secretly developing a nuclear weapon.
On June 12, the IAEA accused Iran of violating a key safeguard agreement, without presenting any evidence. The following day, Israel launched strikes targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and uranium enrichment facilities. Tehran retaliated with counterstrikes and the US joined the Israeli operation. The war lasted for 12 days and ended in a US brokered ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump declared that the Iranian nuclear program had been “obliterated” by America’s military action. The Iranian leadership has rejected the claim.
Iran has long accused the IAEA of colluding with its adversaries. Officials in Tehran claimed that the agency provided Israel with the identities of nuclear scientists and intelligence about key facilities.
Russia has condemned the IAEA’s role in the conflict. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said its data was used to plan the strikes, calling it “a colossal blow” to the watchdog’s credibility.
The IAEA inspectors were housed in Tehran and were unable to visit Iran’s nuclear sites following the 12-day conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The agency withdrew its inspectors from Iran “over safety concerns,” the outlet added, citing sources.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has stressed that it is crucial to negotiate with Iran to restart inspections and monitoring as soon as possible.
