Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday, 15 November 2026, that cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would not improve as long as the current situation persists — a pointed warning issued days before a critical meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors. Baghaei made the remarks at a weekly press conference in Tehran, responding to a confidential IAEA report circulated ahead of that meeting.

Iran's Grievance With the IAEA

Baghaei acknowledged that the IAEA had recognised that US-Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities disrupted the agency's activities inside Iran. However, he accused the agency of stopping short of explicitly naming the strikes as the principal cause of the breakdown in cooperation.

'As long as this situation persists, we cannot expect a transformation in cooperation between Iran and the agency,' Baghaei said, in remarks reported from Tehran.

He further accused the IAEA of issuing one-sided reports, arguing that such an approach had damaged the agency's international reputation and credibility. Despite the standoff, Baghaei affirmed that Iran would continue to honour its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) for as long as it remained a signatory.

Iran Rejects GCC Compensation Demands

Baghaei separately pushed back against calls by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Iran to pay compensation for damages arising from its strikes on US bases and assets in West Asia. The GCC demand was articulated by GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi during a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Friday, convened at Bahrain's request.

Albudaiwi stated that Iran had launched over 7,000 missiles and drones against Gulf states since 28 February, and that the GCC holds Iran fully responsible for the attacks and their consequences. The GCC's demands to the Security Council reportedly included requiring Iran to provide full compensation 'in accordance with international law and Human Rights Council Resolution 61/1.'

Baghaei rejected this framing outright, arguing that regional countries which 'actively participated in the military aggression' against Iran and made their territories available to 'aggressors' could not demand reparations.

Iran Claims Legal High Ground

The Iranian spokesperson said there is 'clear evidence' that losses and damages suffered by Iran during what he described as a 40-day war originated from certain countries in the region. He invoked UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, asserting that any country that played a role — directly or indirectly — in what he called the 'US-Israeli military aggression against Iran' is considered an accomplice and bears responsibility under international law.

Baghaei stressed that Iran is itself the party seeking reparations, adding that the necessary documentation has already been prepared. He characterised Iran's actions as 'purely defensive in nature,' targeting exclusively US military bases and assets that had been used to launch attacks against the country, and stated that Iran had taken no action against the sovereignty of other nations in the region.

What This Means for Nuclear Diplomacy

Iran's hardened position on IAEA cooperation complicates the already fraught landscape of nuclear diplomacy in the region. The upcoming IAEA Board of Governors meeting is expected to address the state of inspections and monitoring inside Iran — a process that has been severely strained by the military strikes on nuclear facilities. With Tehran conditioning any improvement in transparency on a resolution it deems unlikely under present circumstances, the prospects for near-term progress appear slim.

The standoff also deepens the rift between Iran and GCC states, whose competing narratives over responsibility and reparations now play out in multilateral forums including the UN Security Council. How the international community responds to Iran's counter-claims and documentation efforts will shape the next phase of West Asian security diplomacy.