Tehran, June 23: The Iranian Parliament is planning to pass a Bill to suspend Tehran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), state media reported on Monday.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, while addressing the Parliament session on Monday, said, “Iran has no plans for non-peaceful activities, but the world witnessed clearly that the IAEA has not honoured any of its commitments and has turned into a political instrument.”
He also mentioned the religious decree issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, reports Mehr News Agency. “The Iranian Parliament is considering passing a bill on the suspension of Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA as long as Tehran is not given tangible guarantees of the UN nuclear agency’s professional conduct,” Qalibaf stated.
The Parliament Speaker also denounced the US military strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, calling it a “direct American engagement” in the Iran-Israel conflict. “While we consider this (American) attack as a result of the Israeli regime’s strategic failure to achieve its objectives, we won’t tolerate it. We will definitely give a response that would make gambler Trump regret taking the act of aggression against our dear country,” he said.
The US strikes followed Israeli attacks launched on June 13 on various targets in Iran, including nuclear and military sites, killing several senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel.
As of Saturday, more than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 wounded in Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. In Israel, authorities reported 24 fatalities. Meanwhile, the Iranian Parliament has voted in support of closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, a day after US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to media reports.
Any final decision on retaliation, however, will rest with the country’s Supreme National Security Council, Khamenei. The parliament vote merely advises him of the option to pursue. The US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites — dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer” — in Esfahan, Fordow, and Natanz mark the first direct involvement of America in the escalating crises between Iran and Israel. The action has received backlash, with many citing the lack of Congressional approval for the military move.
IANS