Iran asks IAEA to clarify its stance on June attack before inspections

JAKARTA - The UN nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on the US and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear sites last June, before inspectors are allowed to visit the facility, Iranian media reported on Friday, citing the head of the country's atomic agency.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said inspections so far have been limited to undamaged sites. He criticized the watchdog for allowing Israeli and US pressure to influence its actions.

Eslami made his comments in response to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, who said on Tuesday that the impasse over inspections "cannot last forever."

Grossi has not explicitly condemned or criticized the attack, nor has he officially outlined protocols for inspecting damaged facilities.

Access to the attacked site requires "special protocols," Eslami said, adding: "When military attacks occur and there is an environmental risk, it must be defined and guidelines must be designed," as reported by Al Arabiya from Reuters (23/1).

"The agency must clarify its position regarding the military attack on the nuclear facility that the agency has recorded and is under its supervision so that we can understand what role they play," Eslami quoted as saying to reporters in Tehran, as reported by state television.

Eslami said Tehran had delivered a statement at the IAEA General Conference last September demanding that attacks on nuclear sites be prohibited. However, the statement was not included in the agenda and was ignored, he said.

"It is unrealistic, unprofessional, and unfair that, due to pressure from Israel and the US, they are putting pressure on us," Eslami criticized.

Earlier, Grossi on Tuesday told Reuters that the IAEA had inspected all 13 declared nuclear facilities in Iran that were not targeted last June, but could not inspect any of the three main locations bombed, namely Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.