Iran Says IAEA Cannot Inspect Attacked Nuclear Sites Without New Protocol
Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami says Tehran is applying a parliamentary law while inspections continue at sites that were not attacked.
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami said Iran will not accept claimed IAEA inspections of sites damaged by military attacks until a dedicated inspection protocol is drafted, approved and issued. He said inspections continued at sites that were not attacked. The report provides Iran’s position but no IAEA response or independent confirmation.
## Verified facts
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami said on Wednesday, August 26, that Iran’s dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are governed by a law passed by Iran’s parliament. According to the state-run IRNA report, he said the IAEA had been informed that inspections of sites subjected to military attacks could not be claimed until rules and a protocol for inspecting such facilities were drafted, approved and officially issued.
Eslami said facilities that had not been attacked were inspected under safeguards during the previous month. He also said that sites struck militarily had previously been registered with the IAEA and had undergone regular inspections. The report did not identify the specific facilities inspected or provide an independent account from the IAEA.
## Interpretation
The statement sets a condition for renewed or continued IAEA access to damaged sites: Iran wants a formally established procedure addressing site security after military attacks. Eslami framed the issue as a dispute over the IAEA’s legal authority and independence, while alleging that pressure from the United States and Israel was aimed at obtaining access to damaged facilities.
The report’s central development is therefore Iran’s stated inspection policy, rather than confirmation of an agreement with the IAEA or a jointly accepted inspection protocol. The source also indicates that inspections at unaffected sites have continued, suggesting that Tehran is distinguishing between access to damaged and undamaged locations.
Eslami additionally discussed Iran’s plasma-treatment clinics, exports of radiopharmaceuticals during wartime, and domestic fusion-energy research. These remarks were secondary to the inspection issue and were presented as statements by the Atomic Energy Organization chief.
## Uncertainty
The evidence consists of a single IRNA report quoting Eslami. It does not include a response from the IAEA, details of the parliamentary law, the text or status of any proposed inspection protocol, or independent confirmation that the referenced sites were attacked. The report also does not establish whether the IAEA accepts Iran’s interpretation of its inspection authority or whether inspections of damaged sites were formally requested.