Iranian officials have continued to fire back at the United Nations nuclear watchdog over its findings as the negotiations to revive the Iranian nuclear deal remain at a standstill.

During a television interview, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh discussed the latest findings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Khatibzadeh said that the IAEA's board of governors is currently in a meeting that is expected to last several days. One of the points on the board's agenda is to discuss the status of the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA was signed in 2015. It reduced Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief from the United States. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump exited the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran increased its nuclear program and reduced its cooperation with the IAEA. Western countries that were part of the signing of the JCPOA (France, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom) are urging the IAEA to write a resolution condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation. 

Khatibzadeh accused IAEA director Rafael Grossi of writing a “hurried, biased and inaccurate” report against Iran. He said that Iran and the IAEA still have a third round of meetings and added that Iran has already addressed the technical questions of the IAEA, stating that accusations in the IAEA are “footprints of the Zionist regime.” Grossi visited Israel recently and met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Israel reportedly has nuclear weapons and has never signed the nonproliferation treaty, but its research activities are subject to IAEA verification — though nothing that would require the head of the agency to personally visit.