Both Russia and Iran Accuse IAEA of Bias
Russia’s Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, accused the IAEA of ignoring Ukraine’s breach of the ceasefire agreed upon through the agency’s mediation for repairs to the external power supply line of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. Writing on X, he stated, “The Ukrainian side provided written guarantees that the ceasefire would be fully observed… These guarantees proved to be unreliable. Five Russian sappers were seriously wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack. The IAEA’s response is rather strange. Effectively, the Agency turned a blind eye to the violation of guarantees received from the Ukrainian side, undermining the role of the IAEA.”
Iran has also criticized the IAEA. In a post on his X account on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi responded to the latest IAEA report and the media statements by its Director General concerning restricted access to certain damaged facilities, the status of uranium stockpiles, and the issue of “loss of continuity of knowledge” in Iran’s nuclear program. Gharibabadi pointed out that Grossi refers to “ambiguity,” “lack of access,” and “loss of continuity of knowledge,” but emphasized that these issues did not arise spontaneously. He explained that Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities have been targeted by military attacks from the United States and Israel.
Gharibabadi further accused the IAEA Director General of being completely controlled by the US and Western powers and lamented that he has never condemned these attacks.
He stated, “One cannot ignore the source of the disruption and then frame the consequences of that same disruption against Iran.” He concluded, “One cannot bomb safeguarded facilities, destroy the access and safety necessary for inspection, and then use the consequences of that same attack as an ambiguity against Iran.”
