Iranian Parliament approves motion to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.

247 - Iran's parliament approved a motion on Wednesday (25) authorizing the analysis of a bill determining the suspension of the government's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The information was originally published by Tasnim News Agency, a semi-official Iranian news agency linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

The text received unanimous support from members of parliament during a plenary session and is based on a report from the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. According to the proponents, the initiative is a "proportional" response to what they call a "biased report" by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, a document that allegedly paved the way for a resolution that "encouraged the Israeli regime to initiate a war of aggression against Iran" and motivated the United States to bomb three nuclear facilities located in Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, attacked the UN agency's stance and lamented the absence of a formal condemnation, "not even verbal," of the attacks against Iranian facilities. According to him, the IAEA "ruined its international credibility" by remaining silent in the face of the aggression.

Qalibaf further stated that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will halt all collaboration with the IAEA “until the security of the country’s nuclear facilities is guaranteed.” According to the parliamentarian, the suspension will not delay Tehran’s plans: “Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will advance more rapidly,” he declared.

The project now moves to in-depth debate in the same committee that drafted the report. If approved in its final form, it will oblige the Iranian Executive to restrict access for international inspectors, a measure that is expected to increase tensions between Tehran and the signatory powers of the 2015 nuclear agreement.