Tehran — Iran has blocked inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from accessing its nuclear facilities, Iran’s envoy to the United Nations confirmed this week, escalating already fraught tensions following a recent and unprecedented military campaign by the United States and Israel on Iranian soil, reported by Mehr News Agency.
Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani, in an interview with Al-Monitor published Thursday, declared that IAEA access is currently suspended due to what Tehran views as the agency’s failure to respond to direct attacks on its nuclear infrastructure—strikes that Iran says violated international law and its sovereign rights.
“This is not a withdrawal from the NPT,” Iravani clarified, referring to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “But it is a message demanding accountability.”
The ambassador said the suspension follows parliamentary legislation passed after U.S. and Israeli strikes from June 13–24 targeted key nuclear sites including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. The offensive killed hundreds, including senior IRGC figures and nuclear scientists, and marked a rare direct U.S. involvement, including six B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles launched from a nuclear submarine.
Despite the devastation, Iravani insisted Iran remains committed to diplomacy. “We seek neither more nor less than the rights accorded to every other NPT member,” he said, reiterating Iran’s right to research, produce, and utilize nuclear energy domestically.
Tehran, he added, is open to regional cooperation—including reactor safety and fuel supply through a multinational consortium—but emphasized that no such arrangement could substitute for Iran’s sovereign enrichment capabilities.
Iran had been engaged in indirect nuclear talks with the U.S., with a sixth round scheduled for June 15 in Muscat. That meeting never took place, derailed by the sudden eruption of conflict.
On the question of enriched uranium stockpiles, Iravani signaled potential flexibility if a new agreement is reached. Options, he said, could include exporting enriched material in exchange for yellowcake or storing it domestically under IAEA seal—terms reminiscent of the now-defunct JCPOA deal.
Crucially, Iravani dismissed any possibility of restricting Iran’s ballistic missile program, calling it vital to national defense. “The recent aggression demonstrated clearly that without Iran’s military capabilities, the other side would never have been compelled to request a ceasefire,” he said, referring to the end of hostilities on June 24.
He added that Iran’s retaliatory response exacted enough cost to shift international pressure in Tehran’s favor. “We will never agree to relinquish such an effective strategic lever,” he declared.
Regarding future investment, Iravani expressed readiness to welcome Western, including American, companies into Iran’s energy sector—if a deal is reached. But he made clear that no economic incentive would persuade Iran to give up its enrichment rights.
As diplomatic and military tensions converge, Iran’s message is resolute: sovereign rights are non-negotiable, and any return to cooperation will depend on international accountability and respect.
