Iran blames IAEA chief’s ‘betrayal’ for strikes on nuclear sites

Tehran says Rafael Grossi’s “biased report” has helped justify Israel’s attack.

Iran has accused International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi of distorting facts in a past report that led to Israel’s military strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, calling it a betrayal of the agency’s mandate.

In a statement posted on X on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei accused Grossi of issuing a “biased report” that was used by the US and three European countries to pass a resolution with “baseless allegations of non-compliance.”

In a report earlier this month, Grossi stated that “Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state in the world that is producing and accumulating uranium enriched to 60%.”

However, in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, the IAEA chief said UN inspectors have not found any evidence that Iran was undertaking “a systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon.”

“This is too late, Mr. Grossi,” Baqaei said, referring to Grossi’s comments to CNN. Baqaei said the report “obscured this truth” and was “instrumentalized… to craft a resolution” that was later used by a “genocidal warmongering regime” to justify “an unlawful attack” on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Grossi’s report last week prompted the UN nuclear watchdog’s board to declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation duties for the first time in 20 years. Nineteen of 35 IAEA member states backed the motion, including the US, UK, France, and Germany, citing Iran’s failure to explain undeclared nuclear material and growing uranium stockpiles.

Iran rejected the decision as “political” and said it will build a new enrichment site.

Russia has argued that the “biased, anti-Iranian” resolution paved the way for Israel’s attacks against the Islamic Republic.

Baqaei said Grossi “betrayed the non-proliferation regime,” demanding accountability and warning that “misleading narratives have dire consequences.”

West Jerusalem has justified its ongoing attacks by claiming that Iran is on the brink of obtaining nuclear weapons. Tehran has denied the accusations, maintaining that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

Earlier this week, US Senator Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said US intelligence agencies have not seen any evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons – a position unchanged since their last report in March.