Iran slams IAEA silence to Israeli-US attacks, demands accountability for ‘aggressors’

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Iran criticized the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday over silence to recent Israeli and US attacks on the country, calling for accountability for “aggressors.”

“One cannot expect a country to be a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to fulfill its obligations, while the IAEA and its Director General (Rafael Grossi), as the competent authority, either remain silent or justify illegal attacks against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told a news briefing in Tehran.

“This situation requires the agency and its chief to undertake a serious and fundamental revision of their approach regarding cooperation with Iran,” he added.

Baghaei said a recent IAEA resolution declaring Iran in breach of its nuclear obligations “provided an excuse for the military aggression by the Zionist (Israeli) regime and the US against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities.”

“We have raised this issue in the relevant bodies and continue to follow it up,” he said.

“Our main demand from international bodies, especially the UN Security Council, is that the aggressors be officially identified. The Security Council must confirm this and take necessary measures to hold Israel and the US accountable for their actions.”

The spokesman cast doubts on continuing cooperation with the IAEA chief after the Israeli assault.

“How can you expect us to guarantee the safety and security of the agency’s inspectors while Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities were attacked just five or six days ago?”

He also denounced the French and German position on the Israeli attacks on Iran as “absolutely unacceptable.”

A conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military, nuclear and civilian sites, killing at least 606 people and injuring 5,332, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.

The US bombed Iran’s Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities in an escalation of the conflict.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 3,400, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.