Iran suspends cooperation with IAEA days after US hit its nuclear sites

Iran has officially suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after a law seeking the severance was approved by President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday, according to state TV.

US strikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities have severely damaged the country’s atomic program, something that Tehran’s top leadership has admitted.

A few days ago, Pezeshkian slammed IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi for not condemning Israel and US’ attacks on Iran despite them being in flagrant violation of the UN charter and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

“What guarantee is there that our facilities won’t be attacked again, even if we cooperate?” the Iranian president told his French counterpart during a conversation over the phone, according to local media.

Meanwhile, Grossi, who has rejected Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, has warned that Tehran will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium “in a matter of months,” despite the extensive damage caused to its nuclear facilities.

“They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” Grossi told CBS News last week.

At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has admitted that US strikes heavily impacted the Fordow nuclear site. “No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” he told CBS.

However, according to a Washington Post report citing four individuals familiar with classified U.S. intelligence, intercepted Iranian communications appeared to downplay the extent of damage caused by American strikes on three major nuclear facilities in Iran.