A senior Iranian lawmaker accused inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of engaging in espionage activities during visits to the country’s nuclear facilities.
Mahmoud Nabavian, deputy chairman of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, revealed on Saturday that agency personnel smuggled surveillance microchips into sensitive sites by concealing them in their shoes.
“Why is it that every time these inspectors enter our nuclear facilities, and we conduct body checks, we find microchips in their shoes?” Nabavian said, as reported by Fars News Agency.
He stressed that such incidents were not isolated, portraying the agency as a conduit for intelligence gathering. “It is a fact, not a slogan, that these inspectors are spies,” he asserted.
Nabavian went further, saying that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has played a direct role in sharing classified nuclear information with Western states, emphasizing that “Even now, they themselves admit all our main statistics and information are given to them by Mr. Grossi.”
The lawmaker questioned how facilities like the Natanz nuclear site became widely known, attributing it to leaks facilitated through a combination of satellite surveillance, espionage, and agency disclosure.
“They know because they are told by their satellites, their spies, and the agency itself,” he added.
In recent weeks, tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog have intensified, while in late June, Iran’s parliament passed legislation to suspend cooperation with the agency.
The move came just one day after a ceasefire was reached with “Israel,” following nearly two weeks of Israeli aggression targeting Iranian territory.
Parliamentarians accused the IAEA of issuing “false reports” and exhibiting “politically biased behavior,” which they say enables foreign intelligence operations against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
On another note, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed on Saturday that Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency has not stopped, but has rather taken a new form.
AL MAYADEEN
