Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cannot request inspections of nuclear sites that came under military attack until specific rules and protocols for inspecting such facilities are drafted and approved. “Until rules and protocols for inspecting sites that have been subjected to military attack are drafted, approved, and notified, the Agency cannot claim a right to conduct inspections,” he said.
“The IAEA is well aware that under current conditions, until the regulations and inspection protocols for sites that have been subjected to military attacks are drafted, approved, and communicated, it cannot claim the right to inspect them.” While routine safeguards inspections continue normally at facilities that were not targeted, the situation for attacked sites is fundamentally different, Eslami said. “The country remains in a state of war, and it is not yet the case that the conflict has ended and security at these sites has been fully restored.”
He added that all Iranian nuclear facilities targeted in the US-Israel strikes, which took place in June 2025 and February 2026, were registered with the IAEA before the attacks and had been under continuous inspection until then. Eslami noted that while the Agency may currently inspect unattacked facilities based on safeguards regulations, the “law passed by Parliament” remains the sole criterion for damaged sites.
The Iranian parliament voted unanimously to suspend cooperation with the IAEA in June 2025 in the wake of the 12-day US-Israeli military campaign (Operation Midnight Hammer). President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the bill into law in July 2025, which banned UN inspectors from accessing nuclear sites without direct approval from the Supreme National Security Council.
Although a brief framework was reached in Cairo in September 2025 to theoretically permit inspectors back into the country, the deal quickly collapsed after the UN reimposed sweeping snapback sanctions in Iran. Following the widespread outbreak of war and subsequent strikes in early 2026, parliament enforced stricter interpretations of the law. In July, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Iranian nuclear officials reinforced the absolute ban, explicitly blocking IAEA inspectors from accessing any facility that had been bombed or structurally damaged by Western forces.
Eslami also criticised the Agency’s performance, asserting that its refusal to condemn military attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities undermines its “competence and independence”. He added that the current pressure by Washington and Tel Aviv for the IAEA to visit the damaged sites is not about nuclear safeguards, but rather a transparent attempt to conduct battle damage assessment. “The only reason for this pressure is that they want to see what happened to these sites as a result of the military operations they carried out”, he said.
According to IAEA estimates before the US and Israeli strikes during the 12-day war, Iran possessed approximately 408 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium. In a recent interview published by Argentinian newspaper Clarin, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme remain stalled because of the war. He added that Iran highly enriched uranium is still located where it was at the time of the 12-day war last year.
“The facilities have suffered significant damage. Perhaps they are beginning to rebuild some of their infrastructure, that can’t be denied, but there’s no solid evidence to suggest that’s the case. So, the issue remains a major unresolved matter,” Grossi said.
He added that nuclear negotiations with Iran are currently stalled, describing the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme as being at an impasse. Until key issues, including the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and other broader matters, are clarified, the nuclear issue will not be a priority, Grossi told a press conference in Washington.
