Iran passes bill to halt IAEA cooperation as fragile Israel ceasefire holds

Iran’s parliament has passed a measure that would efficaciously suspend the country’s practice with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arsenic Iran insists it volition not springiness up its civilian atomic programme successful the aftermath of monolithic attacks connected the state by Israel and the United States.

The determination connected Wednesday comes aft a US and Qatar-brokered ceasefire betwixt Iran and Israel ended 12 days of fierce hostilities – including an intensive US subject involution that struck 3 Iranian atomic facilities connected Sunday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Al Jazeera successful an exclusive interrogation connected Wednesday that parliament voted to suspend – but not extremity – practice with the IAEA, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog.

He said the US had “torpedoed diplomacy” and could nary longer beryllium trusted, citing extended harm to atomic infrastructure. He reaffirmed Iran’s close to prosecute peaceful atomic vigor nether the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Addressing the parliamentary bill, Baghaei said it sets conditions for Iran’s aboriginal engagement with the IAEA, including guarantees for the information and information of Iranian scientists and atomic facilities.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticised the IAEA for having “refused to adjacent unreal to condemn the onslaught connected Iran’s atomic facilities” that the US carried out.

“For this reason, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran volition suspend practice with the IAEA until information of atomic facilities is ensured, and Iran’s peaceful atomic programme volition determination guardant astatine a faster pace,” Ghalibaf told lawmakers.

Iran has agelong maintained that its atomic programme was peaceful, and some US quality agencies and the IAEA had concluded that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said helium had already written to Iran to sermon resuming inspections of the country’s atomic facilities.

Iran claims to person moved its highly enriched uranium up of the US strikes, and Grossi said his inspectors request to reassess the country’s stockpiles. “We request to return,” helium said. “We request to engage.”

But fixed that Tehran has castigated Grossi for the IAEA’s censure of Iran the time earlier Israel attacked connected June 13, and his consequent comments during the conflict, that seems improbable to hap anytime soon.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tehran, said it is “clear that Iran’s atomic programme volition proceed contempt everything that has happened”.

Hashem said the measure volition present spell to the Guardian Council, which volition survey it “legally and religiously”.

“If determination is statement successful the body, the measure volition spell to the Supreme National Security Council to beryllium approved and yet to the authorities to go policy,” helium added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described Iran’s determination arsenic a nonstop effect of the US and Israeli attacks connected its atomic sites.

‘Disgraceful, despicable’

US quality officials person assessed the strikes arsenic a targeted cognition with constricted effectiveness, saying the US bombings had lone acceptable Tehran’s atomic programme back by a fewer months.

The findings are astatine likelihood with US President Donald Trump’s claims astir the strikes. Trump has insisted that the atomic facilities astatine Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “obliterated” by a operation of bunker-busting and accepted bombs.

Meanwhile, the fragile truce betwixt Israel and Iran appeared to beryllium holding connected Wednesday pursuing a rocky start.

Trump told reporters astatine a NATO acme that it was going “very well”, insisting that Iran was “not going to person a weaponry and they’re not going to enrich”.

An Israeli official, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon interior deliberations, said the ceasefire statement with Iran amounted to “quiet for quiet”, with nary further understandings astir Iran’s atomic programme going ahead.

In Iran, wellness officials said the fig of Iranians killed successful Israeli strikes has risen to 627, portion the fig of those wounded stood astatine 4,870.

Other signs of beingness returning to comparative normality successful Iran came arsenic officials said they volition easiness net restrictions that were enactment successful spot since the struggle began astir 2 weeks ago.

“The connection web is gradually returning to its erstwhile state,” said the cybersecurity bid of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successful a connection carried by authorities media.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development said that Iran’s airspace volition reopen astatine 2pm section clip (10:30 GMT) connected Thursday.

Speaking to reporters connected the sidelines of the NATO summit, Trump said US and Iranian officials are owed to talk adjacent week, continuing a dialog that was interrupted by Israel’s onslaught and the consequent conflict.

“I’ll archer you what, we’re going to speech with them adjacent week, with Iran. We whitethorn motion an agreement, I don’t know,” Trump told reporters.

Separately, Iran slammed NATO main Mark Rutte’s praise of Trump for the attacks connected Iran’s atomic facilities.

“It is disgraceful, despicable and irresponsible for [NATO’s secretary-general] to congratulate a ‘truly extraordinary’ transgression enactment of aggression against a sovereign state,” Baghaei wrote connected the X platform.

Separately, Iranian authorities media reported connected Wednesday that the caput of the IRGC bid centre, Ali Shadmani, died of wounds sustained during Israel’s subject strikes connected the country. The bid centre vowed “harsh revenge” for his killing, authorities media added.

Israel had said connected June 17 that it killed Shadmani, who it says it ascertained was Iran’s wartime main of unit and astir elder subject commander.