Rubio condemns Iran's threats against IAEA chief
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, following the U.S.'s attack on three of Iran's nuclear sites last week.
'Calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi are unacceptable and should be condemned,' Rubio wrote on X Saturday. 'We support the lAEA's critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the lAEA for their dedication and professionalism. We call on Iran to provide for the safety and security of IAEA personnel.'
The extent of threats against Grossi was not immediately clear. Last week, Ali Larijani, a top advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote on X, 'When the war ends, we will settle the score with Grossi' in Arabic.
Iran also recently elected to ban the head of the nuclear watchdog and remove agency cameras from its nuclear facilities, claiming that the Israeli government had been able to obtain sensitive data.
The IAEA is responsible for monitoring the nuclear program of Iran as well as other countries. Iran previously allowed the agency to access and inspect its nuclear plants as part of the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal.
However, access has become more difficult after President Trump withdrew in 2018, although the IAEA has negotiated with Tehran to continue monitoring.
The day before Israel began launching missiles at Iranian nuclear and military sites, the nuclear agency said that Tehran had amassed a worrying quantity of enriched uranium and that the country was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years.
The IAEA has also examined the impact of American airstrikes on the Iranian nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Grossi said Saturday that the facilities had sustained serious damage, although he was unsure whether the IAEA would have the access needed to establish whether nuclear activity was still proceeding.
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