Mossad destroys IAEA equipment in its attack on Iranian Nuclear Facility

Israel intelligence agency Mossad obliterated some of the equipment that belonged to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its attack on Iran back in June. On Monday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told media reporters that the aerial strike on Iranian Nuclear facilities eventually hampered the agency operations in the Islamic Republic but stopped short of revealing its extent. It is imperative to note that the nuclear watchdog is tasked with monitoring Iran’s nuclear operations and its compliance with the 2015 JCPOA pact. 

“We still need to see the degree of a gap” of lost data, Grossi said on Monday about the Karaj attack implying that IAEA did not know the extent of damage as yet. 

During the conference, Grossi also spoke about the 2015 nuclear deal, which has been in limbo despite American President Joe Biden vowing to bring back Iran at the earliest. Grossi said he didn’t expect Iran to return to JCPOA compliance before talks with the US had yielded a path to both nations returning to the deal as a whole. Notably, Washington has asserted that the deal would only be resumed once Tehran comes into full compliance with the terms. Tehran, on the other hand, demanded Washington to comply first by lifting all the sanctions and embargoes imposed by Trump.

Earlier in June, a drone attacked the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, or TESA, in the city of Karaj, northwest of Tehran. The Iranian authorities later said that the saboteurs had been prevented from striking a location in Karaj, which is roughly 40 km northwest of Tehran. They gave no details on what was in the targeted building, which belonged to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, or how it was targeted.

JCPOA Pact 

In 2015, the P5+1 nations signed the JCPOA deal with Iran which allowed Tehran to scale back its nuclear or uranium enrichment program in exchange for promises of economic relief. However, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the pact in 2018. After Joe Biden succeeded Trump, he vowed to revive the deal but clarified that it would only happen once Tehran comes into full compliance with the terms. 

Image: AP/ rafaelmgrossi/Twitter