Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has stressed that the mandate of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was “verification, not political messaging about the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s missiles, or how Tehran should conduct itself”.

“When professional impartiality is compromised for political signalling or personal ambition, institutions erode their credibility — and, over time, their effectiveness as well,” the official wrote on X.