The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, stated on Wednesday that Iran must «seriously improve» its cooperation with UN inspectors to avoid increasing tensions with the West. Grossi told the newspaper that the IAEA has conducted more than 10 inspections in Iran since its conflict with Israel in June, but it has not been granted access to nuclear facilities such as Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, which were struck by the United States. In October, Grossi reported detecting activity near Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, but noted that «this does not indicate enrichment activities». Following these remarks, Ismail Qaani, a spokesman for the ministry, stated that Iran is considering reducing its cooperation with the IAEA.
