Iran rejects IAEA chief’s call to visit nuclear sites

Grossi’s “insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on his X account on Friday.

“Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defense of its interests, its people, and its sovereignty,” he added.

Araghchi’s post came after the head of the UN nuclear agency, addressing the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Monday, appealed for immediate access to the targeted sites to assess the possible damages.

The three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan came under unprovoked and unlawful American aggression on Sunday morning, the responsibility of which was immediately claimed by US President Donald Trump.

At the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Trump claimed the "total obliteration" of Iran's nuclear program in the aggression, which was in blatant breach of international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

However, contrary to Trump’s claims, a leaked preliminary assessment by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) found that the attacks caused only minimal damage to the three facilities.

The report also noted that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains intact despite Trump claiming that the country’s nuclear program was finished.

Araghchi said the Iranian parliament has voted for a halt to collaboration with the IAEA until the safety and security of the country’s nuclear activities can be guaranteed.

“This is a direct result of @rafaelmgrossi's regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency—a full decade ago—already closed all past issues,” the top Iranian diplomat noted.

He added that Grossi’s malign action played a direct role in facilitating the adoption of a politically-motivated resolution by the 35-member Board of Governors against Iran and the unlawful Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear sites.

On June 12, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution accusing Iran of "non-compliance" with its nuclear obligations. The resolution, pushed by Britain, France and Germany, and endorsed by the US, was passed with 19 votes in favor, three against, and 11 abstentions.

In his post, Araghchi also pointed to a betrayal of Grossi’s duties, who also failed to explicitly condemn such blatant violations of IAEA safeguards and its Statute.

“The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

The Zionist regime launched a full-scale aggression on Iranian soil on June 13 by targeting various military and nuclear sites, claiming the lives of many top military commanders and nuclear scientists as well as ordinary civilians.

The aggression on the Islamic Republic has so far claimed the lives of 627 Iranians, according to the health ministry.