Iran suspends cooperation with IAEA, declares Grossi persona non grata

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has signed legislation suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Iranian parliament announced on Thursday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has been declared persona non grata in Iran.

The move comes amid growing criticism in Tehran over what it sees as the agency's "ambiguous and politically motivated" stance on the country's nuclear program.

Despite years of allowing IAEA inspectors access to sensitive nuclear facilities, the agency has failed to provide definitive assessments, Iranian officials say.

“If after all our openness they still hesitate, what’s the point in continuing?” a senior presidential adviser told local media.

Pezeshkian reportedly convinced the Iranian establishment to refrain from exiting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a step some lawmakers had demanded.