IAEA Director General Warns Islamic Republic: Stop Threatening to 'Change Nuclear Policy'

On Tuesday, May 25, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern over recent implicit threats from Tehran regarding a 'potential change in the Islamic Republic's nuclear policies' and urged Iranian leaders to cease discussions on this matter. Rafael Grossi, who recently spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron about the future of Iran's nuclear program, told The Guardian: 'The candid remarks from Iranian officials about producing nuclear weapons are very serious to me, and I think we are approaching a situation where there is a big question mark about what the leaders of the Islamic Republic are doing and why they have started these threats.' He stated that the status of the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and the inspections of Iran's nuclear program are 'at a difficult point' and added: 'Recent remarks by Iranian officials about a potential change in nuclear policies have increased the likelihood of a new crisis with Tehran and Iran's withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.' The IAEA Director General also criticized the 'destruction of the inspection regime' by the Islamic Republic, emphasizing: 'We currently have no information on Iran's nuclear activities; this is a very sensitive moment, and the international community must face the reality that we do not know what Iran may or may not have.' Grossi's statements come as he mentioned in another interview with the Financial Times that there is no evidence indicating that the Islamic Republic is moving towards a nuclear weapons program or intends to do so. He noted that 'for the first time in the past year, the Islamic Republic has expressed a willingness to enter serious discussions with the Agency,' telling the Financial Times: 'Tehran has accepted that it is better to cooperate to some extent rather than continue down a completely divergent path that leads to more tensions and possibly greater dangers, including war.' Some experts view this shift in the Islamic Republic's stance ahead of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting as a tactic to prevent condemnation of Iran by Western countries. This meeting is set to take place in about two weeks. Kamal Kharrazi, a senior advisor to Ali Khamenei, stated on Thursday, May 20: 'We have no decision to build a nuclear bomb, but if our existence is threatened, we will have to change our nuclear and military doctrine.' Javad Karimi Qoddusi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also wrote earlier this month amid military tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel: 'If permission is granted, it will be one week until the first test.' Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, responded to Kharrazi's threats by stating: 'These remarks are irresponsible, as the President and Secretary of State have repeatedly made clear, the United States will not allow the Islamic Republic to acquire nuclear weapons by any means.'