The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran is failing to meet its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Director General Rafael Grossi informed the agency's Board of Governors that Tehran has provided no information regarding its declared nuclear materials or facilities, and that inspectors have been denied on-site verification access.
Grossi called for a return to constructive engagement to restore necessary oversight, while also cautioning against reviving UN Security Council mechanisms that he suggested have already proven ineffective.
Iranian officials have pushed back against these findings. Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, dismissed the IAEA reports as tools of Western political pressure. He warned that if the nuclear file is referred back to the UN Security Council, Tehran will implement countermeasures.
Baghaei attributed the current restrictions on IAEA inspectors to previous strikes on Iranian enrichment infrastructure carried out by the United States and Israel.
Simultaneously, tensions are rising in the Persian Gulf. Baghaei announced that bilateral discussions with Oman regarding a temporary safe transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages and expected to be registered with the International Maritime Organisation soon.
However, this move faces internal skepticism; a political deputy for the IRGC Navy, identified as Mohammadi, stated that safe passage through the southern corridor is practically impossible.
He warned that any vessel reaching the area of Khasab, Oman, would not be safe from strikes, noting that the IRGC maintains continuous intelligence and operational monitoring of regional waters.
Further complicating the regional situation, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, announced the creation of an "exclusion zone" extending from the US naval blockade line into the Persian Gulf. According to Rezaei, any vessel entering this area without Iranian coordination will have its details registered and be added to an Iranian sanctions list.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also issued a warning on social media, stating that US oil and gas assets throughout the region are vulnerable to retaliatory strikes.
Tehran has also directed warnings toward South Korea, with Baghaei stating that any South Korean military participation in Gulf maritime operations would be viewed as support for "the perpetrators of this aggression" and would carry serious consequences.
In response, South Korea's foreign ministry stated that Seoul remains in close contact with the international community, aiming to restore stability and ensure the free passage of all vessels through the strait.
He framed the warning in diplomatic terms, noting that Iran-South Korea relations spanned more than 64 years and were based on mutual respect.
