Shafaq News- Tehran

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei on Friday accused International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi of turning the UN nuclear watchdog’s technical reporting into a tool used to justify military action against Tehran.

Baqaei also said the agency has become complicit in the “political preparation” of an “unlawful war,” arguing that responsibility should extend to those who provide political, legal, or evidentiary justification for military action.

The #IAEA Director General has transformed an institution whose authority rests on technical expertise, impartiality, and independence into a link in a chain connecting technical reporting to political justification, and political justification to war.When IAEA reports become…

— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) September 11, 2026

Grossi said on Thursday that IAEA inspectors had still not been able to access the Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex near the damaged Natanz enrichment facility, while satellite imagery showed signs of new activity at the site. The remarks also followed the IAEA Board of Governors’ September 9 decision to report Iran to the UN Security Council over non-compliance with its non-proliferation obligations, the first such referral in 20 years. The resolution passed with 23 votes in favor, three against, and eight abstentions.

US President Donald Trump cautioned earlier this week that Washington had observed activity at Pickaxe Mountain and could strike the site, while satellite analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found increased construction activity at the site in 2026.