The presence of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in Iran is in line with existing legislation, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday, responding to criticism from some lawmakers.
“The law passed by parliament in this regard has been observed,” Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said during the open session, according to IRNA.
The legislation was passed after the June 22 military strikes by the US and Israel on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The law stipulates that any future inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency must receive approval from the Supreme National Security Council.
Several lawmakers, including Amirhossein Sabeti and Kamran Ghazanfari, argued that the return of inspectors violated the law and lacked transparency.
Sabeti said a copy of the reported agreement with the IAEA and the government had reached lawmakers and called it "a disaster." He said the text required Iran to share sensitive information from before and after Israeli strikes, which he said could enable future attacks. “If it’s false, deny it — we’ll be glad. But if it’s true, this agreement guarantees the next war,” he said.
Ghazanfari said any such cooperation without meeting the parliament's conditions would be a "clear violation" of the law and warned legal action could be pursued against the head of the Supreme National Security Council.
Ghalibaf was responding to lawmaker Mohammad Taghi Naghdali, who questioned whether the safeguards for Iran’s sovereignty and scientists had been ensured.
Naghdali said parliament had approved a measure requiring all cooperation with the UN watchdog to be suspended unless Iran’s territorial integrity, the safety of its nuclear scientists, and its inherent rights were fully guaranteed.
“If anyone acts against this law, they are committing a crime,” he said, warning that violators would face penalties under Iran’s criminal code.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed on Tuesday that inspectors had returned to Iran for the first time since their expulsion during a short war with Israel and the United States.
“Now the first team of IAEA inspectors is back in Iran, and we are about to restart,” Grossi told Fox News, while noting there was no set timeline for resuming full monitoring.
Germany, Britain, and France have tied Iran’s return to full cooperation with the IAEA to their decision on whether to trigger the UN sanctions snapback mechanism at the end of August. Tehran has rejected the legitimacy of such a move.
