Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited Tehran Friday and held meetings with top Iranian officials on Saturday. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Grossi responded to threats by the US and Israel to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, saying that any military attack on such installations is “illegal.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday responded during his cabinet meeting: “International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi just said in Tehran that an Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities is against the law. Rafael Grossi is a worthy gentleman who said something unworthy. Against which law? Is Iran, which openly calls for our destruction, permitted to defend the destructive weapons that would slaughter us? Are we permitted to defend ourselves? It is clear that we are and it is clear that we will do so. And we will do so in discussions or actions around the clock, which I will not detail here, of course.
“There are two distinct problems,” Grossi stated on Saturday. “First up, because of the conflict in Ukraine, assaults on nuclear power stations have regretfully increased in frequency. Second up, during the Agency’s open sessions, these attacks were denounced. Thus, in my opinion, the attack on nuclear plants is both utterly condemned and unlawful.”
Grossi revealed that he held “constructive discussions” with Iranian officials, following which he is “certain that we will be laying the groundwork for significant accords via the fruitful conversations and agreements we are now having.”
Netanyahu noted that “We are on the eve of Purim: 2,500 years ago, an enemy arose in Persia who sought to destroy the Jews. They did not succeed then, neither will they succeed today.”
“I say this because nothing will deter us from defending our country and preventing our enemies from eliminating the state of the Jews,” Netanyahu asserted, concluding: “I wish the entire people of Israel a Happy Purim.”
