Recently, the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the United States and Israel of undermining the credibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This claim was made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who stated that the U.S. and Israel used the agency’s information to plan strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
On June 13, Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, following the IAEA’s Board of Governors passing a resolution that accuses Iran of violating its Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligations. The Islamic Republic denies this accusation. The U.S. also carried out extensive airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities in the previous week.
Zakharova emphasized that the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities under the IAEA’s control is a challenge to the NPT. She noted that the IAEA’s resolutions declare such attacks illegal under international law. The attacks, she added, have created ‘real obstacles’ for implementing the agency’s agreements with Tehran.
The credibility of the IAEA’s verification system, which was used to plan the bombing, is now in question, according to Zakharova. She stated that the U.S. and Israel are ‘responsible for colossal damage to the IAEA’s activities, no matter how hard they try to blame Tehran.’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also commented on the situation, stating that European leaders had pressured IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to publish a negative report on Iran. This report was later used to justify the IAEA Board of Governors’ resolution accusing Iran of breaching the NPT. Lavrov highlighted that the West ‘exerts very serious influence on international organizations,’ and most are no longer impartial.