Iran’s nuclear chief said on Sunday that US and Israeli strikes on its civilian nuclear facilities during the June conflict had damaged the credibility of the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of failing to condemn the attacks.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the first site struck was a plant producing fuel plates for the Tehran Research Reactor – a facility used to make radiopharmaceuticals – and that “information about this location was held only by the IAEA,” according to Iranian media.
Speaking at an international law conference in Tehran, Eslami said the facilities hit were under IAEA safeguards at the time and that agency inspectors had been scheduled to visit one of the sites on the morning of the attack.
“But when these peaceful facilities were attacked, neither the Agency nor the Security Council condemned it,” Eslami said. “By staying silent, they not only allowed the strikes to happen but also damaged the credibility of an international body.”
He added that Iran had met its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal until the United States withdrew from the agreement, saying that the IAEA had issued quarterly and biannual reports certifying compliance.
Eslami said the attacks showed that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure – including sites related to medical-isotope production – was being targeted not because of weapons concerns but to hinder technological progress.
“The goal was not military facilities or a bomb; it was to destroy capacities that contribute to the country’s advancement,” he said.
The nuclear chief warned that Iran faces continued threats against its facilities and urged IAEA member states not to allow the agency’s mechanisms to be used for political pressure.
European states are expected to discuss a draft resolution critical of Iran at this week’s Board of Governors meeting.
Iran says around two million patients rely on domestically produced radiopharmaceuticals from the Tehran reactor.
Both paths remain open, Abbas Araghchi told a conference in Tehran on Sunday. “Those who want to engage with Iran must decide which experience they want to base their approach on. We are ready for both,” he said.
Araghchi described the June fighting with Israel as a success for the Islamic Republic, saying the other party failed to reach its objectives.
Tehran, he said, rebuilt its defenses rapidly. “On the first day of the war Iran prepared itself for defense within hours,” he added.
Israeli media in June reported that Israeli forces struck 1,480 military targets inside Iran over the 12 days and flew 1,500 sorties in Iranian airspace. Israel, the reports said, dropped about 3,500 munitions nationwide, with Tehran the main focus of the attacks. Thirty senior Revolutionary Guards commanders were killed, Iranian outlets said.
Iran’s military capability, Araghchi maintained, has since been restored and added that the country’s nuclear program survived the strikes.
US President Donald Trump has insisted repeatedly that American airstrikes wiped out Iran’s nuclear capacity.
Requests to reopen talks with Tehran, according to Araghchi, have resumed because military pressure failed to halt Iran’s nuclear work. “They did not achieve what they wanted through military action,” he said.
He also said last week that from Tehran’s perspective there is currently no possibility of talks with Washington, blaming what he called the absence of constructive intent from the United States.
‘Armed negotiations’
In separate remarks on the sidelines of the event on Sunday, Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said that any direct engagement with Washington would be conducted under armed conditions because Iran does not trust the United States.
“It would certainly be an armed negotiation because we are ready to confront any deception,” Khatibzadeh added.
“The Islamic Republic has always been ready – and has expressed its readiness – to act under those circumstances within the framework set by the Supreme Leader’s directives.”
Washington has been sending mixed messages through third countries about reviving nuclear negotiations, Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday.
However, Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran has not sent any new message to the United States.
Before the June war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks.
Trump said on Friday that Iran now wants to negotiate a deal after the US strikes on its nuclear sites in June, arguing that renewed US military strength had changed Tehran’s stance.
“Iran is a different place” after the June strikes, Trump said aboard his plane en route to Florida. “Iran wants to negotiate a deal, too. Everybody wants to negotiate with us now.” This shift, he said, would not have happened “if we didn’t have military strength, if we didn’t rebuild our military in my first term.”
The US president earlier told Central Asian leaders that Iran had asked the White House whether sanctions could be lifted.
Iran has rejected the US demand for a full halt to uranium enrichment.
Prosecutors said the suspect, Shimon Azarzar, a resident of Kiryat Yam, sent photos and coordinates of strategic sites to Iranian operatives over the course of a year.
According to investigators, he also used his girlfriend – a reservist serving on an Israeli Air Force base – to obtain additional details on facilities and operations.
The indictment, filed at the Haifa District Court, includes espionage-related offenses such as unauthorized contact with a foreign agent and offering classified material. Authorities said Azarzar received digital payments for his activity.
In a joint statement, the Shin Bet and police warned Israelis against responding to online solicitations from foreign entities. “Security bodies will continue to identify and thwart terror and espionage activity in Israel, and will work to bring all those involved to justice,” they said.
Investigators said Azarzar had offered to pass information from inside military bases and attempted to leverage knowledge obtained through his girlfriend, who has not been charged.
The case follows the recent arrest of another Israeli man on similar suspicions. During a search of his home, authorities allegedly found digital files and 18 SIM cards used to communicate with a foreign agent.
According to the Shin Bet, that individual had been tasked by an Iranian handler with photographing several public locations in the Tel Aviv area – including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Ganei Avraham Park in Bavli, and the site of a missile strike in Ramat Gan. He allegedly received thousands of shekels in cryptocurrency.
The indictments come amid what Israeli officials describe as an increase in Tehran-linked espionage efforts, often conducted through social media recruitment.
Last week, prosecutors charged a hotel worker from Tiberias with spying for Iran, in a separate case reported by local media.
Israel and Iran, longtime regional adversaries, have stepped up counter-intelligence measures following the 12-day war in June, when both sides exchanged direct strikes.
