ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), on Monday criticized the UN nuclear watchdog for failing to condemn the attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities during the June war with Israel, saying a new procedure for inspection is needed.

Tehran announced in early July that it had suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), coming after a 12-day-long conflict with Israel that saw Israeli and US strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.

In November, a resolution by the IAEA demanded “full and prompt” cooperation by Iran, calling for access to its nuclear sites. The resolution was pushed by the US, Britain, France, and Germany. 

“An agency that does not issue a condemnation and has no instructions, has no right to claim that it intends to inspect,” Eslami said, speaking to the reporters on Monday, cited by the state-owned IRNA. 

He said that for the IAEA to be able to visit nuclear sites targeted during the 12-day war, “there should be a specific protocol for these cases.”

Iran has repeatedly criticized the IAEA for failing to condemn attacks on its main nuclear facilities and has accused the agency of sharing information about those sites with Israel.

Regarding the nuclear watchdog’s latest resolution, Eslami said Iran has corresponded, but on the IAEA’s part “no position has been taken, no condemnation has been made, and no specific action has been taken.”

“The fact that we are being pressured by Israel, three European countries, and the United States has no effect on us; rather, it is the agency that must be accountable and answer to the world,” he added. 

In recent months, Tehran has warned that the country is rebuilding its damaged nuclear facilities following the June war.

In September, the UN reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran for allegedly failing to fulfill its nuclear commitments. In turn, Iran blocked the nuclear watchdog from maintaining oversight of its facilities, citing the termination of the nuclear deal’s commitments.

Israel killed top brass Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists with airstrikes in June, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran, with the two trading salvos of missiles and drones for 12 days. The US also bombed the key Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites in the country near the end of the conflict.