Today, Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the statements of the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in which he asserted that carrying out an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was "illegal." Netanyahu said that Grossi was a worthy person, but he made inappropriate statements.
Grossi said during his visit to Tehran on Saturday - in response to a journalist's question about the threats of Tel Aviv and Washington to attack Iranian nuclear facilities if they consider that diplomatic means to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb have reached a dead end - that "any military attack on nuclear facilities is prohibited." ".
Netanyahu said - at the beginning of the weekly cabinet session - that "Israel will continue to defend itself in the face of those who call for its annihilation and prepare for the slaughter of its citizens."
He added that his country "continues to work to confront Iran, through discussions and actions it is conducting around the clock."
The International Atomic Energy Agency issued yesterday from Vienna a joint statement with the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency at the end of Grossi's visit to Tehran.
The statement stated that Iran is ready to continue cooperation with the agency regarding 3 sites that the agency said were undeclared and where traces of uranium were found.
Iran has also indicated its willingness to provide more information and access to it in order to address the remaining safeguards issues.
The joint statement added that Iran will allow the IAEA, when needed, to carry out more verification and supervision activities in nuclear facilities, provided that the method of this is agreed upon during a technical meeting to be held in Tehran soon.
Grossi's visit came as negotiations aimed at reviving the agreement on the Iranian nuclear file concluded in 2015 - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - reached a dead end.
It also coincides with the start of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's tour of the Middle East today, Sunday, including Egypt, Jordan and Israel, during which he will hold talks on the Iranian nuclear program.
security cameras
Tehran denied the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday to install new surveillance cameras in nuclear facilities, and the spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said that his country and the IAEA did not agree to install new surveillance cameras in nuclear facilities.
The official added that the two sides did not discuss the issue during the visit of the Director General of the Agency to Tehran.
He stressed that the increase in inspections at the Fordow facility by 50% - according to Grossi's declaration - is within the guarantee agreements.
He denied that Tehran and the agency had discussed the issue of the volume of visits to the three sites in which the agency said it had found traces of uranium.
Kamalundi also denied that Grossi had met people involved in the Iranian nuclear program, and said he had not asked for it.
It is noteworthy that a confidential report by the Atomic Energy Agency confirmed recently that particles of uranium enriched to 83.7%, or just under 90% needed to produce an atomic bomb, had been found at the Fordow underground plant, 100 kilometers south of Tehran.
Iran - which denies its desire to acquire a nuclear weapon - has justified the matter by referring to "involuntary fluctuations" during the enrichment process, stressing that "it has not made any attempt to enrich beyond 60%."