Here comes the blowback
Iran’s parliament approves plan to pause cooperation with IAEA: Report
Iran’s Nournews site reports that the country’s parliament has passed a bill to suspend cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Under the plan, IAEA inspectors could only enter Iran with explicit approval from the Supreme National Security Council and if the agency guarantees the security of the country’s nuclear facilities, Nournews quotes a member of parliament’s presidium as saying.
According to Mehr news agency, a total of 221 members voted in favour of the bill recommending the suspension of the country’s cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The bill received zero opposition votes and one abstention, the report added.
The bill prohibits entry of IAEA inspectors unless the security of facilities is guaranteed. But it is still up to the country’s Supreme National Security Council to make a final decision and take action on the recommendation of the parliament.
The Iranian parliament has also started reviewing a legislative proposal for stricter prohibitions on the use of drones.
23 suspected Israeli spies reportedly indicted in Iran’s Khuzestan
Iranian prosecutors have indicted 23 people in the country’s Khuzestan province for allegedly spying for Israel, according to Tasnim news agency, as the government ramps up its security crackdown.
According to Tasnim, public prosecutors in the city of Ahvaz, in the country’s southwest near the Iraqi border, have accused the suspects of engaging in “subversive activities” in the province, including gathering information “for the enemy”, and spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, among others.
The allegations against the suspects could not be immediately verified by independent media or rights advocates.
Earlier today, Tasnim reported, the government executed three people accused of carrying out espionage activities against the government in the Urmia region, raising to at least six the number of people executed by the government since the Israeli military operation on June 13.
The judiciary also announced that at least 700 people suspected of spying for Israel were arrested in the last 12 days.
