Iranian MP says war is not over, vows to respond to any threat

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has betrayed Iran and acted as “a soldier of the Zionist regime and global arrogance,” Iranian lawmaker Mojtaba Zolnouri said on Friday, according to state-affiliated media.

Zolnouri, a representative from Qom, made the remarks during a funeral for those killed in the Israeli strikes. He accused IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi of siding with Israel by failing to condemn attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

“He not only betrayed our country, but also the IAEA and the NPT safeguards,” Zolnouri said, referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. “He played the role of an Israeli intelligence officer.”

The lawmaker said Iran had not suspended cooperation with the IAEA as an institution, but had ended dealings with “Israeli and Western intelligence agents disguised as inspectors.”

Zolnouri criticized the agency’s silence after Israeli strikes allegedly hit nuclear facilities operating under IAEA supervision. “They didn’t even convene a Board of Governors meeting or issue a statement,” he said. “The director general could have acted, but chose not to—because he is an agent of global arrogance.”

He added that Iran will not allow further cooperation with the IAEA unless its nuclear sites are guaranteed protection and the agency changes what he described as its biased stance.

Iran has lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations over the Israeli and US military strikes, accusing them of targeting civilian infrastructure and committing violations of international law, the judiciary news agency Mizan News reported on Friday.

In a letter addressed to Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nasser Seraj, head of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, condemned what he described as “aggressive military attacks” on Iranian soil, including strikes on residential areas, prisons, hospitals, media offices, and nuclear facilities.

“These attacks constitute a clear violation of fundamental principles of international law, international human rights law, and humanitarian law,” Seraj wrote.

The letter alleged that Israel deliberately targeted Iran’s state broadcaster facilities, killing and injuring media staff, and bombed medical centers and Red Crescent buildings, causing widespread civilian casualties and destruction of public infrastructure.

It also accused the United States of direct involvement, including through satellite support, refueling fighter jets, and aiding in attacks on nuclear sites in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz.

Seraj urged the UN to launch an independent investigation and hold those responsible accountable, warning that failure to act would undermine global human rights norms and further threaten international peace and security.

Iran has extended a ban on flights over the west and northwest of the country until 2 p.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Saturday, the state-run Mizan news agency reported on Friday.

Iran’s relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency will “take a new shape,” government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in an interview with Al Mayadeen, with excerpts posted on the outlet’s X account Friday. She did not give details on what changes are planned.

Her remarks came a day after Iran’s Guardian Council approved a bill requiring the government to suspend cooperation with the IAEA. The bill, passed by parliament on Wednesday, now has the force of law.

Israeli strikes on Iran could have triggered “a widespread and uncontrollable war in the region” if left unanswered, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a video address to the Eurasian Economic Forum in Belarus on Friday.

Pezeshkian said the attacks included “a series of illegal and criminal operations” targeting Iranian military personnel who were off duty or located outside official military sites, as well as university professors and civilians.