IAEA warns against Israel’s threats to strike Iran’s civilian nuclear sites

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Raphael Grossi said any attack on Iran’s civilian nuclear sites by Israel or the USA would be illegal, Reuters reported.

Grossi was responding to a reporter’s question on Saturday about threats by Israel and the United States to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if they deem talks to limit Tehran’s nuclear ability as having failed.

Any attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would violate international law whether by Israel or any other country, Grossi said.

The IAEA said on Saturday that Grossi had received sweeping assurances from Iran that it will assist a long-stalled investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites and re-install removed monitoring equipment.

Grossi was in Tehran last weekend and met with the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, and President Ibrahim Raisi.

A joint statement issued by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the IAEA said the talks focused on the importance of taking steps for broader cooperation in order to expedite the resolution of remaining safeguards issues in an appropriate manner.

Iran’s supreme leader yesterday also said that the poisoning of schoolgirls is an unforgivable crime that should be punished by death if deliberate, amid public anger over a wave of suspected attacks in schools, Reuters reported citing state TV.

Over 1,000 girls have fallen ill after being poisoned since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls’ education.

The poisonings have come at a critical time for Iran’s clerical rulers after months of protests since the death of a young woman in police custody in September, 2022.

The head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, said the perpetrators will be convicted of spreading corruption on earth, the most severe charge for which the perpetrators are punished by death.

On Sunday Iranian authorities arrested journalist Ali Pour-Tabatabaie, who had been following the news of gas attacks on girls’ schools in the city of Qom for the past few weeks.

Middle East Monitor / ABC Flash Point Education News 2023.