Iran warns IAEA against politicizing technical reports

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refrain from politicizing its technical reports. In a post on social media platform X, Gharibabadi responded to the IAEA's latest report and remarks by Director General Rafael Grossi regarding lack of access to Iran's damaged nuclear sites, uranium stockpiles, and the loss of continuity of knowledge in Iran's nuclear programme.

Gharibabadi argued that the current situation did not arise in a vacuum. He noted that safeguarded facilities were targeted by U.S. and Israeli military attacks, yet Grossi, whom Gharibabadi accused of being entirely in the service of Washington and the West, has never condemned these strikes. "One cannot ignore the source of the disruption and then frame the consequences of that same disruption against Iran," he wrote.

The Iranian diplomat challenged Grossi to take a clear legal stance against the attacks, which he said violated not only Iranian sovereignty but also nuclear safety, the safeguards regime, and the credibility of the non-proliferation system. Gharibabadi questioned how Grossi, a candidate for UN secretary-general, could lead the organization independently given his "political and dependent approach."

Regarding enrichment levels, Gharibabadi stated that repeated references to 60 percent enrichment and scenarios about weapons were more political than technical. He emphasized that the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) sets no limit on enrichment levels, and the legal criterion is the absence of diversion to military purposes. Iran's programme is peaceful and within its legal commitments, he said.

Gharibabadi warned that the agency cannot report the effects of a military attack, ignore the responsibility of its perpetrators, and then demand that Iran pay the technical and political cost of insecurity created by the aggressors. He concluded that if the IAEA wants to be part of a diplomatic solution, it must avoid converting technical reporting into political pressure. "One cannot bomb safeguarded facilities, destroy the access and safety required for inspection, and then deploy the consequences of that same attack as ambiguity against Iran," he wrote.

According to Mehr News Agency, Gharibabadi's remarks underscore Iran's stance that the IAEA should maintain its technical and impartial role, free from political influence.