UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS
By Syed Zafar Mehdi
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – A senior Iranian official warned Thursday that Iran may expel inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and suspend cooperation with the agency if “external threats” persist.
On X, Ali Shamkhani said the continuation of “external threats and the possibility of a military attack on Iran” could lead to the “expulsion of IAEA inspectors and the suspension of cooperation with the IAEA.”
Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former head of the country’s top security agency, also warned that transferring enriched materials to “secure and undisclosed locations within Iran” may be considered.
His remarks come amid a dramatic escalation in tensions between Iran and the US over Iran’s nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump threatening a military strike on Tehran.
In comments on Wednesday, Trump said Israel would lead any potential military strike against Iran if the two sides fail to reach a nuclear agreement.
“If necessary, absolutely ... If it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us – we do what we want to do,” Trump said.
His comments came before a scheduled round of indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington on Saturday, mediated by Oman to resurrect the nuclear deal.
Talks between the two sides have remained suspended for the last two years amid differences between the two countries.
During his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal brokered between world powers and Iran and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran.
Despite complying with the nuclear agreement for over a year after the US withdrawal, Iran gradually reduced its commitments, citing the failure of the deal’s remaining signatories to protect its interests.