UN Nuclear Agency Rebuffs Israel’s Condemnation

Following criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the UN nuclear agency head insisted on Monday that the agency is nonpolitical and that it has been “very fair but firm” in its dealings with Iran.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) closed its investigation into man-made uranium that had been discovered in Marivan, about 325 miles southeast of Tehran, and uranium that had been enriched to 83.7% purity at the Fordo nuclear site.

Speaking to his cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu characterized the investigations’ closure as “capitulation to Iranian pressure.”

At an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna on Monday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi rebuffed Netanyahu’s critique.

“We never politicize. We have our standards and apply them always,” Grossi told reporters. He described the agency’s work as neutral and impartial.

Last week’s IAEA report said that the uranium found in Marivan may have been linked to a mine operated in the area in the 1960s and 1970s by “another member state.” Iran has said that the uranium likely came from “laboratory instruments and equipment” used by miners there.

On Friday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat described that explanation as “not reliable or technically possible.”