Tehran insists IAEA inspectors may access only two existing nuclear facilities for now.

By World Israel News Staff

A senior Iranian official said Wednesday that international inspectors will not be permitted to visit nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel during the recent conflict, casting doubt on the future of nuclear monitoring efforts and raising new questions about Tehran’s intentions for its nuclear program.

The remarks appeared to directly contradict statements made by President Donald Trump and recent comments from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), both of whom had indicated that Iran had agreed to expanded international inspections as part of ongoing negotiations.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has been leading Tehran’s negotiating team in talks with the United States, said inspectors would be barred from visiting nuclear sites that were targeted in recent airstrikes.

“IAEA inspectors do not have the right to inspect nuclear sites bombed by the U.S.,” Ghalibaf reportedly said on Iranian state television, according to Al Jazeera.

“Currently, inspectors only have access to two locations: Bushehr power plant and Tehran reactor,” he added.

Ghalibaf also rejected reports that inspectors would be granted access to Iran’s major nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan, describing those claims as “false.”

Last Friday, however, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said during a press conference that “there is an agreement” regarding Iran granting access to the agency’s inspectors.

In order for Tehran “to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect” nuclear sites throughout the country, he added.

Grossi did not specify whether the understanding included access to facilities that had been damaged or destroyed during the recent conflict, leaving uncertainty over the scope of any inspection.

President Trump has also maintained that Iran agreed to extensive verification measures as part of the emerging diplomatic framework.

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform in late June.

“This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty.’ If they did not agree to this, there would ⁠be no further negotiations!”

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The president also rejected statements from Iranian officials disputing that inspectors would be granted access.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United States would be permitted to enter Iran to locate enriched uranium, while senior international and Iranian officials continued to offer conflicting accounts regarding inspection access under a recently signed memorandum of understanding.

Speaking in a phone call with Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, President Trump said inspections would move forward but indicated there was no immediate timetable for their implementation.

According to Yingst, President Trump said there was “no rush” regarding when inspectors would enter Iran.

The president also rejected statements from Iranian officials disputing that inspectors would be granted access.

When asked by reporters about Iran’s denial on Tuesday, President Trump responded that “they know they’re wrong.”

Referring to recent negotiations between the United States and Iran, President Trump added: “They told us inside,” he said in reference to recent US-Iran negotiations, “and we have it down, 100% inspections.”

President Trump further stated that continued Iranian opposition to inspections could affect ongoing diplomatic contacts.

Trump added that if Iran was correct in its assertion that US and IAEA inspectors would not be allowed into Iran, he would “cancel the meetings right now.”

The remarks came as International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Wednesday that inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities would proceed under the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties.

Grossi’s comments challenged suggestions that Tehran had not agreed to permit inspectors to return.

Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance described negotiations between the United States and Iran in Switzerland as a “very, very good day” and said Iran had agreed to allow IAEA inspectors into the country. Vance characterized the development as a “major milestone.”

Iranian officials later disputed that account.

Tasnim reported Monday that neither Iran’s negotiating team nor senior government officials had approved the return of inspectors.

The differing public statements have highlighted ongoing disagreement over the scope and status of inspection arrangements as the United States, Iran, and the IAEA continue discussions under the recently signed memorandum of understanding.

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Tasnim said Tehran considers its policy of “nuclear ambiguity” a critical strategic asset and an important safeguard against U.S. pressure.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iran on Monday rejected a key claim made by Vice President JD Vance regarding nuclear negotiations with the United States, with the Iranian news agency Tasnim reporting that Tehran has not approved the return of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors despite Vance’s announcement that an agreement had been reached.

The contradiction emerged after Vance outlined what he described as progress in talks between Washington and Tehran.

Speaking earlier in the day, he said Iranian officials had agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, back into the country.

Tasnim reported that no such authorization had been granted by either Iran’s negotiating team or senior government officials.

The agency wrote that the issue had not been approved and added that “it would be better if this is never approved.”

The report presented the disagreement as part of a broader dispute over Iran’s nuclear posture.

Tasnim said Tehran considers its policy of “nuclear ambiguity” a critical strategic asset and an important safeguard against U.S. pressure.

The agency stated that Iran intentionally maintains uncertainty regarding the storage locations of enriched materials and views American efforts to obtain information about those sites as a challenge that must be prevented.

Vance had portrayed the reported agreement on inspectors as a significant development in the diplomatic process. “This is a significant milestone for the American people, and the first step toward permanent nuclear disarmament or the permanent end of a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” he said.

While announcing the development, Vance acknowledged that inspectors had not yet returned to Iran.

He said the understanding had been reached only the previous night, leaving insufficient time for deployment.

“They will return this week. I hope it happens today,” Vance said.

The vice president also announced a major sanctions measure tied to the negotiations, saying restrictions on Iranian oil sales had been suspended for the duration of a 60-day negotiating period.

Under the arrangement described by Vance, Iran would be allowed to produce, transport, supply and sell oil while talks continue.

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Grossi described the current situation as a chance that needs to be seized.

By JNS

It is up to the International Atomic Energy Agency to flesh out the details of the final agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear project, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told reporters in Geneva on Thursday.

“It is good that the memorandum is there. Now the technical work starts,” Reuters quoted Grossi as saying.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a 14-point interim agreement with the Iranian regime to halt hostilities in the Middle East, extending the ceasefire by 60 days to enable both sides to negotiate further for a final agreement.

“Now it is for us to sit down with our American and Iranian colleagues and ⁠start formulating concrete steps that will have to be taken,” Grossi continued.

He described the current situation as a chance that needs to be seized, Reuters reported.

“The fact that they [Washington and Tehran] are mentioning that this will be under the supervision and control of the ⁠IAEA is very important, because in our conversation, what we are going to be doing is defining what we need to see, what we need to access,” Grossi said.

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Much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is thought to have survived previous rounds of strikes.

By Reuters and The Algemeiner

The United States is preparing a draft resolution condemning Iran ahead of this week’s meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors, diplomats said, a step that could complicate wider talks between the US and Iran.

Washington and Tehran are negotiating an extension of their ceasefire that would pave the way for talks on issues including Iran‘s nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump insisting Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran says it never would.

Israeli and US military strikes last June destroyed or badly damaged the three uranium-enrichment plants known to have been operating in Iran at the time.

Much of its highly enriched uranium, however, is thought to have survived, though the UN nuclear watchdog has not had access to check.

With a quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation board taking place this week, Washington is preparing a text, though it has yet to circulate it and details are therefore unclear, diplomats accredited to the IAEA said.

Iran has bristled at previous resolutions the board has passed against it, often retaliating by escalating its nuclear activities or scaling back cooperation with the agency.

A more imminent concern this time is the talks with the US.

“I believe it may antagonize the Iranian side,” Russia’s ambassador to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, told reporters.

Russia and China are the two countries that have opposed all recent resolutions against Iran at the IAEA board, which were submitted jointly by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany and have passed by a clear margin.

“As far as I know, they are going to call upon Iran to provide access to the agency’s personnel to nuclear facilities on the territory of Iran,” said Ulyanov, while adding he did not believe the US would actually submit the draft.

The US mission to the IAEA declined to comment.

The last time the IAEA passed a resolution against Iran was in November, to say Iran must inform the IAEA “without delay” of the status of its enriched uranium stock and bombed atomic sites, which it has yet to do.

A resolution in June found Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting Tehran to the UN Security Council, but the board has yet to take that extra step.

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According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity—a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

By The Associated Press

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has been unable to inspect nuclear facilities in Iran affected by the war last June, according to a confidential report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog circulated to member states and seen Thursday by The Associated Press.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it “cannot provide any information on the current size, composition, or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran or whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities.”

The IAEA warned that it was “unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities” that it has under the Safeguards Agreement of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, adding that it is “indispensable and urgent” for Tehran to implement its obligations under that Treaty.

The only nuclear facility inspected in Iran by IAEA inspectors since the last report in February has been the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which was visited on June 1-3.

The reactor currently running at Bushehr uses uranium from Russia enriched to 4.5%, a low level needed for power generation in such plants.

The confidential report comes as tensions have flared in the Middle East.

Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport on Wednesday, killing one person, wounding dozens of others and briefly closing the airfield—the latest in back-and-forth attacks by Iran and the U.S. that test a fragile ceasefire.

According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity—a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned in a recent AP interview. He added that it doesn’t mean that Iran has such a weapon.

Such highly enriched nuclear material should normally be verified every month, according to the IAEA’s guidelines.

The report said Grossi reiterates his “full support to the negotiations underway aimed at finding a mutually acceptable solution to issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme, and his readiness … to support an eventual agreement.”

Talks have dragged on for weeks as mediators seek a more enduring truce in the war, now in its fourth month. They are increasingly strained by Israel’s broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Iran maintains its hold on the Strait of Hormuz—a crucial waterway for the world’s oil and natural gas and related products like fertilizer—and the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports.

Global fuel prices remain high, and the effects of the conflict are felt well beyond the region.

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The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned of the growing dangers facing critical infrastructure after visiting the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which was struck by a drone attack last month.

According to Emirati officials, one of three drones launched from Iraq penetrated the country’s air defenses and hit an electrical generator outside the plant’s inner perimeter, forcing operators to temporarily shut down a reactor after external power was disrupted.

While no radioactive material was released and the facility remained safe, the incident has raised alarm across the Gulf. The attack highlighted the increasing threat posed by Iranian-backed militias and comes amid ongoing regional tensions following the US-Iran conflict. Repairs are expected to be completed within weeks.

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An international nuclear watchdog group says Iran likely still holds a significant stockpile of 60% enriched uranium.

By World Israel News Staff

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said that roughly half of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is likely still intact at an underground nuclear development site in Isfahan.

The uranium, enriched to 60% purity, is close to the level needed for use in nuclear weapons.

“What we believe is that Isfahan had until our last inspection a bit more than 200 kilograms, maybe a little bit more than that, of 60% uranium,” Grossi told reporters in Paris on Monday, according to a Reuters report.

Grossi noted that if the uranium were further enriched, it could be sufficient to produce up to 10 nuclear weapons.

“The widespread assumption is that the material is still there. So we haven’t seen – and not only us, I think in general all those observing the facility through satellite imagery and other means to see what’s going on there – movement indicating that the material could have been transferred,” he added.

Grossi also said the agency believes there is additional enriched uranium at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.

Iran has long resisted transparency with international inspectors and organizations regarding its nuclear program.

For years, Iranian officials pointed to a fatwa — an Islamic religious decree — reportedly issued by the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that banned the creation and use of nuclear weapons, arguing that it proved Iran’s nuclear program was strictly civilian.

However, the fatwa is no longer in effect after Khamenei was assassinated on the first day of the American-Israeli war on Iran in late February.

The fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile has been a central concern since last year’s Operation Rising Lion, the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel that also included strikes by the U.S. targeting several of the country’s nuclear facilities.

Last June’s American strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site were reported to have destroyed a significant portion of the country’s enriched uranium.

However, later reports suggested Iran had transported much of the uranium stored at Fordow to another location before the American attack.

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Grossi said he concluded “in-depth technical discussions” with the Iranian Foreign Minister.

By World Israel News Staff

Diplomatic activity intensified in Geneva on Monday as senior Iranian and international officials met ahead of a second round of negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he concluded what he described as “in-depth technical discussions” with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, framing the meeting as preparatory work for the high-stakes talks scheduled to begin Tuesday.

Araghchi arrived in Geneva earlier in the day for the next phase of negotiations aimed at easing tensions and preventing a potential military escalation in the region.

The talks come amid growing warnings from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that confrontation with the United States could expand into a broader regional conflict.

“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Araghchi wrote on X on Monday. “What is not on the table: submission before threats.”

The upcoming discussions mark the second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran focused on Iran’s nuclear activities, with diplomats seeking to test whether a diplomatic pathway remains viable following months of rising tensions and military signaling on both sides.

Adding to the charged atmosphere surrounding the talks, Iranian media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy launched a military exercise titled “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz.”

The drills began one day before negotiations with the United States were set to resume, highlighting the parallel track of diplomatic engagement and military messaging unfolding in the region.

The Geneva meetings are widely viewed as a critical moment in determining whether negotiations can produce progress or whether tensions between Iran and the United States will continue to escalate.

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Before the bombing, Iran held 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, an amount the IAEA says could potentially produce 10 nuclear bombs if further refined.

By JNS

France, Britain, Germany and the United States submitted a draft resolution on Tuesday to the U.N. atomic watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors, demanding that Iran provide answers and grant access concerning its bombed nuclear sites and enriched uranium stockpile, according to Reuters.

Diplomats told the news agency the resolution is expected to pass as early as Wednesday. The measure follows a critical International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran that was circulated to member states last week.

The report detailed that Tehran has yet to grant international inspectors access to nuclear sites struck by Israeli and U.S. forces in June.

“The Agency’s lack of access to this nuclear material in Iran for five months means that its verification … is long overdue,” according to the report.

“It is critical that the Agency is able to verify the inventories of previously declared nuclear material in Iran as soon as possible in order to allay its concerns … regarding the possible diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful use,” the IAEA report continued.

Under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Tehran is required to submit detailed information on these facilities “without delay,” but it has yet to comply, blocking IAEA inspectors from resuming visits.

Before the bombing, Iran held 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, an amount the IAEA says could potentially produce 10 nuclear bombs if further refined.

In September, Iran and the IAEA agreed to resume nuclear inspections, including at sites struck by the United States and Israel during the 12-day war in June.

But Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the deal would be voided if France, Germany, and the United Kingdom pursued snapback sanctions against Iran at the U.N. Security Council under Resolution 2231, which formalized the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

The three countries initiated the sanctions in August, citing Iran’s failure to comply with the deal’s terms, and U.N. nuclear sanctions on Iran were reimposed in late September.

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The IAEA has now lost so-called continuity of knowledge of Iran’s enriched uranium stocks, it added, meaning re-establishing a full picture will be arduous.

By Reuters and The Algemeiner

Iran still has not let inspectors into the nuclear sites Israel and the United States bombed in June, the UN atomic watchdog said in a confidential report on Wednesday, adding that accounting for Iran’s enriched uranium stock is “long overdue.”

The IAEA‘s own guidelines say it should verify a country’s stock of highly enriched uranium, such as the material enriched to up to 60 percent purity in Iran, a short step from the roughly 90 percent of weapons grade, every month.

The IAEA has been calling on Iran for months to say what happened to the stock and let inspections fully resume quickly.

The two sides announced an agreement in Cairo in September that was supposed to pave the way towards that. However, progress has been limited, and Iran now says the agreement is void.

“The agency’s lack of access to this nuclear material in Iran for five months means that its verification … is long overdue,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in the report to member states seen by Reuters.

CONCERNS ABOUT DIVERSION, INSPECTIONS CRITICAL

“It is critical that the agency is able to verify the inventories of previously declared nuclear material in Iran as soon as possible in order to allay its concerns … regarding the possible diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful use,” it added.

The report said the quantity of highly enriched uranium Iran has produced and stored is “a matter of serious concern.”

The IAEA has now lost so-called continuity of knowledge of Iran’s enriched uranium stocks, it added, meaning re-establishing a full picture will be arduous.

The agency has so far only inspected some of the 13 nuclear facilities that were “unaffected” by the attacks and none of the seven that were, it said.

ENOUGH FOR 10 NUCLEAR BOMBS

One reason Israel and the United States gave for their attacks, which destroyed one of Iran’s three enrichment facilities operating at the time and at least badly damaged the others, was that Iran was getting too close to being able to produce a nuclear weapon.

Western powers say there is no civil explanation for Iran’s enrichment to such a high level. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, and the IAEA said it had no credible indication of a coordinated weapons program there.

The IAEA estimates that before the attacks Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent in uranium hexafluoride form, which can easily be enriched further.

That is enough, if enriched further, for 10 nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick.

As a party to the NPT, Iran must send a detailed report to the IAEA on the status of the bombed facilities and its enriched uranium “without delay” but still has not done so, the report said. Only then can the IAEA inspect them.

NEW ENRICHMENT PLANT – STATUS UNKNOWN

While some enriched uranium will have been destroyed in the attacks, diplomats say much of the stock was likely stored at a deeply buried facility at Isfahan where the entrance tunnels were hit but damage appears limited.

Iran informed the IAEA shortly before the attacks it was setting up an enrichment facility at Isfahan, but the agency has not been able to inspect it.

“The agency does not know the precise location of [the plant], its status for safeguards purposes, including whether it contains nuclear material, or whether it was affected by the military attacks,” the report said.

While there is little sign of progress towards a nuclear deal between the US and Iran, both sides say they are open to the idea.

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Global atomic energy watchdog group believes that most of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium survived the 12-day war with Israel unscathed.

By World Israel News Staff

Most of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium survived Israeli and American airstrikes, the United Nations’ atomic energy watchdog group believes.

Israeli warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear facilities across the country during the 12-day war this past June, including atomic sites at Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.

American B-2 stealth bombers also struck those facilities during a one-day air campaign.

While the US and Israel have assessed the damage done to Iran’s nuclear program, and in particular to the country’s capacity for uranium enrichment, questions lingered after the strikes regarding the fate of the approximately 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium already produced by Iran.

On Saturday, Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that he believes “the majority” of Iran’s uranium stockpile enriched to 60% purity survived the Israeli and American strikes.

That stockpile, which the IAEA estimated in the past was enough to produce 9 or 10 atomic bombs, most likely “remains in the nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Fordo, and some in Natanz,” Grossi told the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

Grossi did suggest that some of Iran’s enriched uranium was probably destroyed in the attacks, but he estimated that around 90% of it was still intact inside the damaged facilities.

Prior to the June war, the IAEA estimated that Iran possessed 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity. After the airstrikes, Grossi said the IAEA believes Iran has around 880 pounds left from its stockpile – enough for eight or nine atomic bombs.

Regarding the condition of the three key Iranian atomic facilities at Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz, Grossi said they appeared to be “massively damaged.”

However, Grossi warned that without Iran’s cooperation, his agency would be unable to precisely gauge either the damage to Iran’s nuclear program or the fate of its uranium stockpile.

“Will we get access to this uranium?” he asked. “And what will happen to it then? Will Iran want to keep it, will it reduce its enrichment levels again, or will Iran move this uranium abroad?”

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Araghchi and Grossi met in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi, who praised the agreement as “a positive step towards de-escalation.”

By JNS

The Iranian regime inked an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday to resume cooperation and allow renewed inspections of its nuclear sites under a new framework.

It comes after months of suspension following Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, which included Israeli and American attacks on the country’s nuclear infrastructure, and subsequent parliamentary legislation halting collaboration.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi signed the deal in Cairo. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty participated in the meeting.

“Today, I and the IAEA director general hold a final round of negotiations to finalize the understanding on how to conduct Iran’s safeguards commitments in light of the developments following the unlawful attacks on Iran’s nuclear installations,” Araghchi said at a joint press conference with Grossi and Abdelatty.

Tehran’s top diplomat said the framework was “fully consistent” with the new law, which stipulates that nuclear inspectors would require authorization from the country’s top security body in order to conduct their work.

While in the Egyptian capital, Araghchi and Grossi met with Egyptian president Abdelfattah al-Sisi, who praised the agreement as “a positive step towards de-escalation.”

Sisi added that it could pave the way “for a return to the negotiating table and the achievement of a peaceful settlement to the Iranian nuclear program,” according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.

Jerusalem and Western governments accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, rejecting claims by the Iranian regime that its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany (known as the E3) last month threatened to reimpose “snapback sanctions” on Iran over its nuclear activities, while leaving the door open for a diplomatic solution.

Abdelatty said he hopes the deal could “enable an understanding” with the European powers, according to France24.

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The Islamic Republic has accused Grossi of helping trigger the 12-day war with Israel in June, alleging his reports on its nuclear program were biased and filled with unsubstantiated claims.

By JNS

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has been assigned round-the-clock security since June following a “specific Iranian threat,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Grossi was placed under the protection of Austria’s Cobra special forces unit, which is responsible for safeguarding top officials, including the country’s chancellor, and countering major threats such as terrorism.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), headquartered in Vienna, Austria, serves as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

“We can confirm that Austria provided a Cobra unit but we cannot confirm where the specific threat came from,” IAEA spokesman Fredrik Dahl told the newspaper.

A person familiar with the matter told the Journal that Vienna had acted on intelligence outlining a specific threat to Grossi coming from Iranian-linked individuals.

A second source said they had been told that the threat came from Iran and was being taken seriously by authorities.

In instances of credible threats against dignitaries, the Cobra unit deploys officers armed with submachine guns and at least two bulletproof vehicles around the clock, the Journal noted.

The Islamic Republic has accused Grossi of helping trigger the 12-day war with Israel in June, alleging his reports on its nuclear program were biased and filled with unsubstantiated claims.

Senior Iranian officials have demanded he be tried in absentia and removed from his post.

On June 12, a day before Israel launched its preemptive attack against Tehran, the IAEA’s Board of Governors for the first time in nearly two decades declared Iran in violation of its non-proliferation commitments, paving the way for possible referral to the U.N. Security Council.

The move followed a long-standing dispute between Iran and the IAEA, which escalated after the United States under President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018.

In late June, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Iran a “mafia state” after one of its top lawmakers issued an apparent threat against Grossi.

“It would have been unbelievable if it weren’t about Iran. Now they’re openly threatening the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. A mafia state!” Sa’ar wrote on X.

The foreign minister was referencing an earlier tweet by Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, speaker of the Iranian parliament and a former brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“When the war is over, we will settle accounts with Grossi,” Larijani had written in Farsi.

Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Kayhan daily branded the IAEA head an Israeli spy and urged that he be arrested and executed.

IAEA nuclear inspectors left Iran in early July after the Islamic Republic implemented legislation halting all cooperation with the agency.

“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the nuclear watchdog said in a statement.

An Israel Atomic Energy Commission report concluded that the U.S. strikes that targeted Iran’s Fordow enrichment plant in June had destroyed critical infrastructure, rendering the strategically significant site “inoperable.”

The IAEC assessment noted that the American assault, “combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program,” set back Tehran’s abilities to develop nuclear weapons “by many years.”

“The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material,” continued the report, the conclusions of which were published by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the White House.

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Iranian historian Mohammad Hossein Rajabi Davani said in an interview that Iranians want nuclear weapons to deter the U.S. like North Korea and branded cooperation with the “treacherous” IAEA a betrayal.


Iranian Historian Mohammad Hossein Rajabi Davani: Iran Should Pursue Nuclear Weapons for Deterrence Against the U.S. – Like North Korea Did; Cooperation with the IAEA Is Betrayal pic.twitter.com/ZttvxJEAlm

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 24, 2025

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Inspectors have been unable to access Iranian nuclear sites since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June.

By JNS

Talks between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are ongoing and “will continue in the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told Iranian state media on Monday.

IAEA deputy director general Massimo Aparo visited Tehran last week to begin talks on how the U.N. agency and the Islamic Republic will interact following Israel’s attack on its nuclear and ballistic missile facilities in June, semi-official Iranian outlet Mehr News Agency reported.

“The talks began last week, and another round of negotiations between Iran and the IAEA is likely to take place in the coming days,” he said.

“We never stopped talks with them,” said Baqaei, according to another semi-official news site, Tasnim News Agency. “But they must clarify whether they intend to play a constructive role or a negative one that serves the Zionist regime.”

Referring to an Aug. 13 joint letter sent by the United Kingdom, France and Germany to the U.N. secretary-general stating that they were ready to reimpose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities, Baqaei said the three European powers are only pursuing a “destructive role” and acting according to “Zionist interests,” Tasnim reported.

Inspectors have been unable to access Iranian nuclear sites since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, which included a U.S. bombing raid on Iran’s most protected site at Fordow, Reuters reported on Monday.

IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said on June 25 that his “No. 1 priority” is for inspectors to return to Iran’s nuclear sites to evaluate damage from the recent bombing and verify stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, according to the U.N. website.

On June 12, for the first time in nearly two decades, the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors declared Iran in violation of its non-proliferation commitments.

In late June, Iran passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA, claiming that the agency’s board of governors resolution “encouraged the Israeli regime to launch a war of aggression on Iran and prompted the U.S. to bomb three main nuclear sites of Iran,” Tasnim reported.

Over a period of 12 days, starting on July 13, the Israeli Air Force bombed numerous nuclear and missile production sites across Iran, quickly achieving aerial dominance over the country.

In response, the Islamic Republic, Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at Israel, killing 31 (30 civilians, including four children and one soldier).

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