News- Middle East: Iran’s Constitutional Council has approved a parliamentary bill on suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after its report against Iran’s nuclear program earlier this month became a lightning rod for the Israeli aggression on the Islamic Republic.

Hadi Tahan-Nazif, the spokesperson for the country’s top oversight body, announced on Thursday the approval of a bill mandating the government to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear agency unless Iran is provided with unequivocal guarantees on its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The guarantees should particularly ensure the safety of Iranian nuclear scientists and facilities, he said.

Tahan-Nazif said members of the Council, a 12-member body composed of Islamic jurists and legal experts tasked with vetting legislation passed by the parliament, reviewed the bill and found it neither contrary to Islamic law nor the Constitution.

The bill cites the recent violations of Iran’s sovereignty and attacks on its territorial integrity in the wake of the US and Israeli aggression against the country’s peaceful nuclear facilities and its vital interests, requiring the government to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA.

The suspension, the bill reads, will remain in effect until full assurances are provided regarding Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, particularly the security of its nuclear sites and scientists, as well as the Islamic Republic’s inherent rights under Article 4 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including its right to uranium enrichment.

The bill also tasks Iran’s Supreme National Security Council with assessing whether these conditions have been met.

The endorsement came a day after Iran’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill to suspend cooperation with the IAEA. To become law, the Constitutional Council should endorse it.

According to the parliamentary resolution, IAEA inspectors will not be allowed to enter Iran unless the security of the country’s nuclear facilities and peaceful nuclear activities is fully guaranteed, a condition subject to approval by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Iran is also considering an entry ban on the IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, who has come under fire for facilitating the Israeli-American aggression against Iran.

Based on Grossi’s politically-motivated report, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted an anti-Iran resolution on June 12, which the Israeli regime and the US used as a pretext to carry out their unprovoked and unlawful aggression against the Islamic Republic.

It was the first allegation of non-compliance against Iran in nearly 20 years, falsely accusing the country of violating safeguards obligations. The measure was adopted with 19 votes in favor, 11 abstentions, and 3 countries opposed—Russia, China, and Burkina Faso.

The controversial resolution, pushed by the European troika – Britain, France and Germany - and backed by the United States, prompted strong condemnations from the Islamic Republic, which announced building a new nuclear facility and upgrading its centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment plant.

The resolution emboldened the Israeli regime to attack Iran on June 13, resulting in the assassination of many top-ranking military commanders, scientists and ordinary citizens.

More than a week later, the US jumped on the bandwagon and carried out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, in brazen violation of international law and UN Charter.

Earlier this week, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), emphasized that Tehran would take all necessary legal measures to defend its rights and hold the IAEA chief accountable for failing to respond to the Israeli onslaught against the country.

Source: Press TV