Iran on Monday criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for what it called a failure to act over Israeli and US attacks in June after talks in Tehran with the UN nuclear watchdog’s deputy director general earlier in the day.
The network is run on behalf of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a Defense Ministry body established in 2010 which the United States calls a successor to Iran’s alleged pre-2004 nuclear weapons program.
Western governments have sanctioned SPND for years, citing its role in the potential proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The network purchases dual-use and military-grade equipment, including in the field of neutronics—a highly sensitive discipline vital to controlling chain reactions in nuclear reactors and, in a military context, producing or controlling neutrons for weapons design, a source familiar with its activities said.
“This network purchases dual-use and military-grade equipment, including neutronics and other sensitive components, on behalf of SPND,” the source said.
Such capabilities can be used for reactor safety, protection from radiation and can have military applications for producing nuclear weapons.
Isatis group and SPND links inside Iran
Inside Iran, the procurement effort is anchored by companies operating under the Isatis name. Corporate and academic records link two SPND personnel, Hadi Zakeri Khatir and Ebrahim Haji-Ebrahimi, to Isatis Danesh Tolid Tajhiz, one of the group’s entities.
Zakeri Khatir, a faculty member at a university linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, serves as vice chairman of the board. Haji-Ebrahimi is listed as a technical engineer with a background in nuclear fusion studies.
Isatis presents itself online as a holding company with multiple subsidiaries in steel, cement and industrial equipment.
However, Iran International found that some of these firms—such as Isatis Foolad Tajhiz and Isatis Siman Tajhiz—remain unregistered in official records, suggesting the size and activities of the firm are not readily transparent.
Isatis Holding did not respond to requests for comment by Iran International.
European hub in Vienna
The network’s overseas hub is Vienna, according to the informed source and company registration documents obtained by Iran International.
Austrian commercial records show that Mohammad-Amin Kharazmi, son of Isatis co-founder Saeed Kharazmi, manages Better Way GmbH, a company registered in 2018 at a residential address in Vienna’s Margareten district.
Mohammad-Amin Kharazmi told Iran International: “I categorically deny any commercial or other activities connected, directly or indirectly, to Iran’s nuclear program.” He said he never had any legal or actual role in those entities.
The same address is used by two other firms—Pioneer Bio Instrument GmbH, a registered medical equipment supplier, and Petrophoenixx Handels GmbH—both with Iranian nationals in management roles.
Neither company responded to requests for comment by Iran International.
Kharazmi said many Iranian firms provide foreign addresses just to exaggerate their profile.
Better Way lists no website or contact details. Its declared business is online retail, with reported assets of roughly €420,000 at the end of 2023. On its own website, Isatis Danesh Tolid Tajhiz names Better Way as a European partner.
Legal cover, strategic depth
Israeli strikes during a 12-day war in June targeted SPND sites and killed multiple nuclear scientists.
The United States has repeatedly sanctioned SPND and affiliated companies, citing their role in “dual-use research and development activities applicable to nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.”
SPND’s work has drawn repeated censure from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and US sanctions target more than 30 of its scientists and multiple front companies.
In 2024, Iran’s parliament passed a law granting SPND official recognition under Iranian law. The act placed the organization directly under the authority of the Supreme Leader, exempted its budget from parliamentary oversight, and allowed it to form academic and commercial entities with legal protection.
“The Islamic Republic expressed its objection to the failure of the agency to fulfill its responsibilities regarding the Israeli and US attack and raised its demands for correcting the agency’s improper processes,” deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said.
Gharibabadi's remarks came following a meeting with IAEA deputy director general Massimo Aparo, who was in Tehran for a brief trip on Monday. The visit marked the highest-level meeting between the IAEA and Iran since the attacks on Iranian nuclear sites badly frayed ties.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had stressed earlier that the visit would not involve nuclear inspections but rather dialogue with the agency.
In June, Iran’s parliament approved a bill to suspend the country’s cooperation with the IAEA, a day after a ceasefire with Israel.
The bill, passed with 221 votes in favor, none against, and one abstention out of 223 members present, and bars the UN nuclear watchdog’s inspectors from accessing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
At the time, Iran also accused IAEA chief Rafael Grossi of bias and failing to condemn the attacks.
On July 4, Grossi said that the agency's team of inspectors had departed Iran to return to its headquarters in Vienna after the new law barred cooperation with the IAEA.
Israel launched a surprise military campaign on June 13 targeting military and nuclear sites, killing hundreds of military personnel, nuclear scientists and civilians.
Iran responded with missile strikes that killed 31 civilians and one off-duty soldier, according to official figures published by the Israeli government.
The Islamic Republic says 1,062 people were also killed by Israel during the 12-day conflict, including 786 military personnel and 276 civilians.
On June 22, the US carried out airstrikes on Iran’s key nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
The full extent of the damage remains unclear but President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the strikes "obliterated" the country's nuclear program.
