Iran Calls For "Special Prevention Actions" Before Nuclear Inspection Continues

JAKARTA - Iran's head of nuclear program said inspections by the UN watchdog could not be fully continued, until "special precautions" were taken following the Israeli and US attacks on its nuclear facilities.

Iran's Head of Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami said in an interview the current security situation amid the risk of Israeli attacks in the future remains "similar to wartime," and trust in the UN agency must be rebuilt.

"This is the first time in the history of a nuclear facility guarded to be the target of a military attack," he said, according to Kyodo News September 17.

"Special precautions must be taken before inspections can return to normal," he added.

Israel launched an attack on Iran on June 13, killing senior Iranian military commanders and dozens of nuclear scientists. A few days later, the United States bombed three major nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Following the attack, Iran's parliament passed a law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which effectively halted most inspection activities in its territory.

The inspectors left the country, and Tehran publicly criticized IAEA's Director-General, Rafael Grossi, accusing him of failing to protect classified information and subject to Western pressure.

After several rounds of negotiations, Iran and the IAEA reached an agreement on September 9 to establish new protection and inspection procedures under what Tehran calls "postwar conditions."

With ongoing efforts to fully implement the agreement, Eslami said Iran had resumed limited internal checks for a while, including at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, but parliament remains vigilant against intelligence leaks that could uncover vulnerabilities.

"The threat from our enemies continues, and no country places any problem above its sovereignty and national security," he explained.

The Western Government has urged the IAEA to continue close monitoring of Iran's enriched uranium reserves.

Meanwhile, Tehran claims the damage caused by the attack has made it difficult to calculate materials.

Eslami accused Western countries of exploiting the IAEA for political purposes, criticizing the United States for threatening to reduce funding for the agency if member states supported a resolution condemning Israel at the annual IAEA general meeting in Vienna.

Claiming the agency had lost its independence, he described the failure of the IAEA to condemn the Israeli and US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities as "unforgivable errors that will be recorded in history."

He also urged Grossi to at least acknowledge the problems posed by the attack for the nuclear safety and security regime.

Eslami defended Iran's right to use nuclear energy peacefully under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying that "obligations related to inspection only make sense when accompanied by respect for rights."