The country faces conditions similar to wartime following Israeli and US airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, Iran’s nuclear chief said on Wednesday, warning that inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency would not fully resume without new safeguards.
“This is the first time in history that safeguarded nuclear facilities have come under military attack,” Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said in an interview by Japan’s Kyodo News.
“Special precautions must be taken before inspections can return to normal.”
Israeli strikes on June 13 killed senior Iranian military commanders and dozens of nuclear scientists, and US air raids days later targeted three major sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The attacks led parliament to approve a law to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, forcing most inspectors to leave.
Iran and the agency reached a September 9 accord to establish new procedures under what Tehran calls “postwar conditions,” but implementation has been slow. Inspectors returned briefly to oversee a fuel swap at the Bushehr power plant before departing again without access to Fordow or Natanz.
Eslami accused the IAEA of failing to defend the integrity of confidential information and said its silence over the attacks was “an unforgivable mistake that will go down in history.”
While insisting Iran’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Eslami said inspection obligations must be balanced with national security.
“The threats from our enemies persist, and no country places any issue above its sovereignty and national security,” he said.
The standoff comes as Western governments push the IAEA to continue strict monitoring of enriched uranium stockpiles despite the heavy damage to Iranian sites.
