Iran's Guardian Council approves legislation to suspend cooperation with IAEA

ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Iran's Guardian Council announced on Thursday that it approved legislation to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The bill, which was passed by the Iranian parliament on Wednesday, was approved by the Guardian Council after its members reviewed it, Hadi Tahan Nazif, the council's spokesman, said in a statement broadcast by the country's state television. Thus, the legislation became a law.

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, IAEA officials will now not have the right to enter the country for inspections "as long as the security of Iran's nuclear facilities and the country's peaceful nuclear activities are not guaranteed."

The move comes after a 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which ended on Tuesday after a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump.

Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military facilities on June 13, claiming to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. The US also bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, saying they were obliterated.

The IAEA, meanwhile, has sought the return of inspectors to damaged Iranian sites.