VIENNA: UN nuclear watchdog inspectors left Iran on Friday, according to the agency, which called for the resumption of its “indispensable monitoring” though the country officially suspended its cooperation after Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the Interna­tio­nal Atomic Energy Age­ncy (IAEA) said in a post on X.

“IAEA Director Gen­eral Rafael Grossi reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” it added.

Iran officially suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, after Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, followed by the US strikes last month.

As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2025