Iran says IAEA board pressure and US talks are separate but linked

Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami on Wednesday condemned the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran’s nuclear activities, calling it “highly political” and lacking technical credibility.

Eslami after a weekly cabinet meeting accused the IAEA of succumbing to “Zionist-influenced pressure” from the United States and three European countries, who he said are now pushing for a resolution against Iran without sound legal or technical grounds.

“The IAEA must prepare its reports professionally and in line with its statute, not under political pressure,” Eslami said, insisting that Iran has cooperated in good faith and voluntarily gone beyond its obligations.

He added that recent inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities reached unprecedented levels in 2023 and 2024.

Eslami rejected non-compliance as “a blatant lie,” saying no IAEA inspection has found Iran obstructing its legal duties. He added that any confrontational action “will be met with a reciprocal response.”

“The path of issuing false and biased reports does not help resolve issues—it only damages the credibility of the IAEA itself,” Eslami said.

He added that Iran would not tolerate "illegal behavior or politically motivated measures disguised as safeguard concerns."

If conflict is imposed on the country, the response would inflict “heavy casualties” and force US forces to leave the region, Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh said Wednesday.

“If negotiations fail and confrontation is imposed on us, we will strike our targets,” Nasirzadeh said on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting.

“We will target all American bases in host countries without hesitation.”

"Iran would not remain passive and would retaliate decisively against any aggression."

Nasirzadeh also said that Iran had a successful test of a missile with a two-ton warhead last week.

“Our operational forces are fully equipped and ready.”

He also dismissed any talk of military constraints, saying, “We neither accept military limitations nor authorize anyone to negotiate over them.”

The legislature sees itself duty-bound to supervise the nuclear negotiation process while upholding the Strategic Action Law for lifting sanctions, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday.

Speaking during a meeting with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ghalibaf added that parliament would support the government’s efforts to advance the talks.

The United States has no right to tell us what we can or cannot have, Iran's government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told Al Mayadeen.

Iran will pursue its national interests by all means, she added.

Iran seeks sanctions relief and recognition of its peaceful nuclear program but is prepared for any scenario, including failed talks, Mohajerani said.

"Iran possesses extensive intelligence on Israel’s nuclear and military programs, which will be disclosed when deemed appropriate."

The spokeswoman also called on Europe to adopt more reasonable positions and avoid hostility.

The execution was announced on Wednesday, coinciding with the birthday of Kian Pirfalak, a 10-year-old boy who was killed during a violent episode in Izeh in November 2022.

Iranian officials had initially accused Kourkour of involvement in the child’s death, but later revised the charges without formally exonerating him of the killing.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, he “was sentenced to death and executed for drawing a weapon with intent to kill and intimidate the public, spreading corruption on earth through committing crimes by firing a military weapon, and forming and joining an armed group in rebellion against the state."

Kourkour’s execution proceeded despite widespread concerns raised by human rights groups and denials of wrongdoing by the victim’s family.

Disputed case and international outcry

Kourkour was arrested in December 2022 during a raid in the village of Persourakh near Izeh. The judiciary accused him of involvement in the shooting incident in the Izeh market on November 16, 2022, which resulted in the deaths of at least seven people, including Kian Pirfalak.

In April 2023, Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz convicted him on charges including enmity against God, corruption on earth, disturbing public order, and mass murder, sentencing him to death three times.

Although Iran’s Supreme Court initially overturned the death sentences in March 2024 and referred the case back for review, following procedural steps, the court reaffirmed the death penalties, which were ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have criticized the legal proceedings, citing denial of legal representation, allegations of forced confessions, and the use of capital punishment as a political tool.

The family of Kian Pirfalak, whose death became a symbol of the 2022 protests, has consistently rejected the state’s narrative implicating Kourkour.

His mother, Mahmonir Molaei-Rad, and father, Meysam Pirfalak, have both publicly held security forces responsible for the shooting that killed their son and left the father severely injured.

In a widely circulated video, Meysam Pirfalak said: “We have no complaint against Mojahed Kourkour. We saw with our own eyes that security forces opened fire on our car.”

Kourkour is the 11th person executed in connection with the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Among those previously executed are Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Mohsen Shekari, and Majidreza Rahnavard, all sentenced on similar charges.

Iran accounted for 64% of all known global executions in 2024, with at least 972 people executed, according to Amnesty International, in what the rights group says is the government's ongoing campaign of mass suppression of dissent.