Iran moves to suspend cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog IAEA

Tehran, June 24 (IANS) Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said that the legislature is moving to approve a plan to suspend Tehran's cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, as tensions intensify with the United States and Israel.

In a post on social media platform X, Ghalibaf accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of lacking "professional" conduct following recent attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We in the Islamic Consultative Assembly are seeking to approve a plan to halt cooperation with the agency until we receive concrete guarantees of its professional behavior," Ghalibaf said.

The announcement comes after a series of strikes on Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure. On June 13, Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple sites inside Iran, including nuclear and military installations, killing several senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians.

The United States followed on early Sunday with airstrikes on Iran's Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities.

The flare-up coincides with a recent resolution by the IAEA's Board of Governors, which, for the first time since 2005, declared Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations.

The move followed an IAEA report accusing Tehran of failing to fully explain the presence of nuclear material detected at three undeclared locations, while offering what the agency described as "less than satisfactory" cooperation.

Earlier on Monday, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi revealed that extensive destruction is expected to have occurred in Iran's nuclear sites following the US attacks.

Addressing the Board of Governors at an emergency meeting regarding the situation in Iran, the IAEA chief highlighted that craters are visible at the Fordow nuclear site in Iran.

--IANS

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