TEHRAN – The Iranian ambassador and permanent representative of the UN have formally filed a complaint with the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Bureau (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi (IAEA), accusing him of having the most recent Israeli impartiality.
In a letter dated Friday, June 20, Iran’s Amir Said Irabani criticized Grossi’s disclosure ahead of the recent military attacks on the Islamic Republic, calling it a “clear and serious violation of the principles of impartiality” that governs the responsibility of his office, according to the MER press.
Ambassador Irabani argued that Grossi’s statement violated the legal obligations and obligations engraved in IAEA law, particularly at the moment of growing international tensions. He cited the IAEA Chief press conference held on June 9, 2025. This is followed by the Governor’s Conference. By referring solely to Israel’s so-called “concerns,” grossi, responding to an explicit threat to Israel’s threat to Iran’s protected nuclear facilities, omitted the issue of mentioning restraint control under international law.
Iravani emphasized that Grossi did not mention the IAEA’s own general meeting resolutions GC(34)/RES/533 and GC(44)/RES/444. This omission, he wrote, constituted “blatant neglect of legal principles” under Grossi’s mission.
Emphasizing a broader pattern, Iranian envoys condemned Grossi’s continued failure to identify or denounce Israel as the leader in the June 16 attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Israel’s own official declaration refrained from issuing denunciations despite a declaration of intent to continue such operations “for many days if necessary,” Irabani noted.
Irabani warned that such actions demonstrated that they could not maintain the core principles of neutrality, objectivity and professionalism expected by the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog. He further stated that Grossi’s silence and inaction in the face of a clear violation of international norms “undermines the integrity of the IAEA’s security measures regime and undermines global non-proliferation architecture.”
In his closing remarks, Irabani emphasized that the ongoing passivity of the superintendent general in response to Israel’s aggressive actions amounts to a de facto accomplice from inaction.