Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said new rules and a protocol must be prepared before nuclear sites targeted in military attacks can be inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Eslami said a law passed by the Iranian Parliament was the main criterion governing relations with the IAEA. He said the agency could not request inspections of the attacked sites until the protocol had been prepared, approved and put into effect.
Security explanation sought for damaged sites
Arguing that Iran conducts its nuclear activities within the framework of the IAEA’s safeguards inspections and rules, Eslami said all of the attacked sites were registered with the agency. He noted that regular inspections had been conducted at those facilities before the attacks.
Eslami said the IAEA’s failure to object to or condemn the attacks raised questions about the agency’s competence and independence. He said the agency should first explain its responsibility regarding the security of the attacked sites and which protocol would apply at those facilities.
Eslami alleged that the United States and Israel were pressuring the IAEA to inspect the damaged sites, arguing that the pressure was aimed at seeing the condition of the facilities after the military operations.
Protocol required for inspection requests
Stating that conditions in Iran remained wartime conditions, Eslami said it could not be claimed that the nuclear facilities had been secured. He said the law passed by the Iranian Parliament was the criterion on the matter and that the IAEA had been notified accordingly.
Eslami argued that the IAEA knew it could not request inspections of facilities targeted in military attacks until rules and a protocol governing such inspections took effect.
Inspections conducted at sites not hit by attacks
The Iranian official said the necessary inspections had been carried out at sites unaffected by the attacks over the past month as part of contacts with the IAEA. Eslami described the inspections as “natural and clear.”
On June 13, 2025, Israel launched large-scale attacks targeting nuclear facilities and the military’s top command in several Iranian cities. Iran’s chief of staff, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, several senior commanders and nine nuclear scientists were killed in the attacks.
The United States also attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on June 22.
