Speaking at a weekly press conference on Sunday, Esmaeil Baqaei took issue with a recent report by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, saying the agency faces a structural problem in the way it publishes reports.
He described the problem as a deficiency that the IAEA must address, adding that its persistence appears to be deliberate.
Baqaei said the IAEA, influenced by the US and its biased approach, continues to insist on its previous course of action. He warned that the one-sided report against Iran has damaged the IAEA’s credibility and would entail responsibility for the agency.
“Creating pretexts to intensify the atmosphere surrounding Iran’s nuclear program has served no purpose,” he said.
The spokesman noted that two permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia and China) disagree with the approach reflected in the report, adding that the issue has also exposed divisions within the Council.
He said a significant point in Grossi’s report was that the agency has been compelled to acknowledge that the military attacks on Iran have created an unprecedented situation. However, Baqaei argued, the IAEA should have explicitly stated that the US and Israeli military aggression was the principal cause.
“Unfortunately, following these attacks, the IAEA has ignored this bare fact,” he said.
Baqaei stressed that no improvement in Iran’s relations with the agency could be expected as long as the current situation persists. Regarding the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), he said any decision on the matter should be made by the relevant Iranian institutions.
“As long as we remain a member of the NPT, we are committed to its obligations,” he stated.
Commenting on the IAEA’s call for the return of its inspectors to Iran, Baqaei said the agency could not make such a request without taking into account the history of the issue.
He noted that the IAEA itself has acknowledged in its report that the US and Israeli aggression has disrupted access for its inspectors.
“The IAEA must decide whether it wants to be a technical body or remain under the influence of certain countries,” he said.
Baqaei added that the disruption of the agency’s activities in Iran is the consequence of the US and Israeli acts of aggression, as well as the IAEA’s silence in response to those attacks.
A few days ago, Iran’s Mission to the UN Office in Vienna also criticized the IAEA Board of Governors’ resolutions on Iran, describing them as legally and technically flawed and arguing that normal safeguards activities cannot resume under the abnormal conditions created by attacks on Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities.
In a post on its X account, the mission said the Board’s decisions had been adopted through an abuse of process and that the attacks had disrupted inspections and forced the Agency to withdraw its inspectors.
It also cited Grossi’s acknowledgment that the attacks had created unprecedented circumstances, disrupted inspections and raised the need to take Iran’s security concerns into account.