Iran has denounced a new resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors and warned it may take additional retaliatory actions, according to state media reports published Friday.
The IAEA on Thursday urged Iran to fully cooperate with inspectors and provide detailed information about its stockpile of near–weapons-grade uranium. The resolution also called on Tehran to grant access to nuclear sites that international inspectors have been unable to visit for months.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told the official IRNA news agency that Iran notified the IAEA in a formal letter that it is ending an inspection agreement negotiated in Cairo over the summer. Baghaei added that Tehran is considering “other actions” in response to the resolution, though he did not specify what measures are under review. Increased uranium enrichment remains a possibility, according to experts.
Baghaei accused the agency of acting under pressure from Western governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. He argued that the resolution failed to acknowledge that Iran suspended cooperation only after Israeli and American strikes on its nuclear facilities during a 12-day conflict in June.
The latest IAEA move is expected to heighten tensions further. Iran has reacted forcefully to previous resolutions by the board, and its leadership has repeatedly linked nuclear cooperation to regional security developments.
Following the June conflict with Israel, Iran halted all cooperation with the IAEA. The strikes killed nearly 1,100 people in Iran, among them military commanders and nuclear scientists. Although an agreement to resume inspections was reached in September, those plans unraveled after the United Nations moved to reimpose sanctions on Iran using the nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism.
Tehran responded by freezing implementation of the Cairo agreement, setting the stage for renewed friction with the international nuclear watchdog. Further developments will depend on how Iran chooses to respond to Thursday’s resolution.
