Iran says it 'remains committed' to nuclear non-proliferation treaty

Law sidelining UN nuclear watchdog raised concerns about Tehran's compliance

A satellite image shows Iran's damaged Arak nuclear reactor after Israeli air strikes in June. Reuters

Iran “remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement”, its Foreign Minister said on Thursday, a day after President Masoud Pezeshkian put into effect a law suspending co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Our co-operation with the IAEA will be channelled through Iran's Supreme National Security Council for obvious safety and security reasons,” Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.

Mr Pezeshkian, who also chairs Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on Wednesday approved a law to suspend co-operation with the IAEA, which had been passed by parliament and approved by the Guardian Council, the country's constitutional watchdog.

Iranian leaders have accused the UN agency of providing Israel with grounds for attacking its nuclear facilities after its board censured Iran last month for not complying with its obligations under the non-proliferation treaty, which is intended to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

The IAEA has monitored Iran's nuclear energy programme for years. Tehran claims the programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes, but western powers suspect Iran is seeking to build a bomb. Israel launched air strikes aimed at crippling Iran's nuclear infrastructure on June 13, hours after the IAEA board passed the censure resolution.

The US entered the conflict on June 22 by sending B-2 bombers to drop “bunker-buster” bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites. Israel's attacks and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes ended two days later after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire.

An IAEA spokesman told The National on Wednesday that they were aware of reports on suspension co-operation with the agency and were “awaiting further official information from Iran”.

The US State Department condemned Iran’s move to stop co-operating with the IAEA, while the UN said the decision was “obviously concerning”. Secretary General Antonio Guterres “has been very consistent in his call for Iran to co-operate with the IAEA”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Germany, France and Britain “to reinstate all sanctions against Iran” under an earlier nuclear deal. Germany said Iran's decision to suspend co-operation with the IAEA sends a “devastating message”.

The extent of damage to Iran's nuclear facilities from the Israeli and US attacks is not fully known. Mr Araghchi told US broadcaster CBS in an interview, part of which was released on Tuesday, that the Fordow nuclear plant had been “seriously and heavily damaged” by the US bombing, adding that the full picture was still unclear.

Fordow was the stronghold of Iran's nuclear energy programme and came to be seen as a symbol of defiance by the ruling regime against the international community, as well as a bargaining chip in diplomacy.

The site’s extreme fortification made it nearly impossible to attack without advanced bunker-busting weaponry, something only the US possesses.