Speaking to state media during President Massoud Pezeshkian’s visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami said the inspectors monitored the fuel replacement process at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
“This inspection was part of ongoing cooperation with the IAEA, carried out within the framework of parliamentary law and with the council’s approval,” Eslami said, adding that the inspectors “came, supervised the process, and left.”
Eslami noted that negotiations with the IAEA remain ongoing, with two meetings held so far and a third planned.
He criticized the agency’s leadership, saying its governance is “influenced by global powers” and applies “double standards” in monitoring member states.
Ties between Iran and the IAEA deteriorated even further after Iranian officials slammed the atomic agency’s chief, Rafael Grossi, for its “biased stance” following the US-Israel alliance’s strike on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities earlier this year.
Addressing renewed discussions over the activation of the “snapback” sanctions mechanism by the European parties to the JCPOA nuclear deal, Eslami said the issue is “not new,” saying Iran’s adversaries are using pressure tactics to force concessions.