US says Iran pulling from nuclear watchdog 'unacceptable'

Iran's suspension of co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog is "unacceptable", US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce has said.

Tehran officially suspended its co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a move triggered by the unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities over 12 days in June.

"We'll use the word unacceptable, that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity," Ms Bruce told a briefing in Washington.

On 25 June, a day after a ceasefire took hold, Iranian politicians voted overwhelmingly to suspend co-operation with the Vienna-based IAEA. State media confirmed that the legislation had now taken effect.

The law aims to "ensure full support for the inherent rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran" under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, with a particular focus on uranium enrichment, according to Iranian media.

The US administration backed Israel's effort to damage Iran's nuclear program by bombing three nuclear sites overnight on 21-22 June.

US President Donald Trump has since warned he will order more air strikes if Tehran tries to obtain nuclear weapons.

The Islamic republic has always denied it was seeking to develop an atomic weapon.

Ms Bruce said Iran must cooperate without delay with the IAEA, including by providing "information required to clarify and resolve long-standing questions regarding undeclared nuclear material in Iran, as well as provide unrestricted access to its newly announced enrichment facility".

"Iran cannot and will not have a nuclear weapon," she said.

US strikes set back Iran nuclear programme by up to two years: Pentagon

It comes as US intelligence assessments indicate that strikes on Iranian nuclear sites set the country's atomic programme back by up to two years, the Pentagon has said.

"We have degraded their programme by one to two years at least - intel assessments inside the (Defence) Department assess that," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told journalists.

Mr Parnell later added: "We're thinking probably closer to two years."

American B-2 bombers hit two Iranian nuclear sites with massive GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs last month, while a guided missile submarine struck a third site with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign targeting Iranian nuclear sites, scientists and top military brass on 13 June in a bid to end the country's nuclear program, which Tehran says is for civilian purposes but Washington and other powers insist is aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.

Mr Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path to replace the nuclear deal with Tehran that he tore up during his first term in 2018, however, he ultimately decided to take military action.

The US operation was conducted on a large scale, involving more than 125 US aircraft including stealth bombers, fighters and aerial refueling tankers as well as a guided missile submarine.

Requests to visit nuclear sites in Iran

Iran has rejected requests to visit bombed sites, saying it was of "malign intent".

Britain, France and Germany have condemned unspecified "threats" against the IAEA's chief.

On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the vote to halt cooperation reflected public "concern and anger".

More than 900 people were killed in Iran during the conflict, according to the judiciary.

Iran's retaliatory attacks killed 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged "serious" damage to the sites.

But in a recent interview with CBS, he said: "One cannot obliterate the technology and science... through bombings."