Grossi: Iran Must ‘Seriously Improve’ Nuclear Cooperation

By Staff, Agencies

International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] chief Rafael Grossi has called on Iran to 'seriously improve' nuclear cooperation with the United Nations inspectors to avoid heightening tensions with the West, Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Grossi told the FT that while the IAEA has carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since the war imposed by "Israel" in June, it had not been given access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.

Grossi claimed in October that movement had been detected near Iran's enriched uranium stockpile but that it did "not imply that there is activity on enrichment".

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei subsequently said that Grossi was "fully aware of the peaceful nature" of Iran's nuclear programme and should not express "unfounded opinions" on it.

Iranian officials have blamed the IAEA for providing a justification for "Israel's" bombing, which began the day after the IAEA board voted to declare Iran in violation of obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT].

Grossi told the FT that while the agency was trying to approach the "bumpy" relations with Iran with understanding, the country still needed to comply.

On June 13, “Israel” and the US attacked Iran, claiming over than 1,000 lives, and Iran retaliated against strategic targets, halting the aggression by June 24.