Iran passes bill to halt IAEA cooperation as fragile Israel ceasefire holds

Iran’s parliament has passed a bill that would effectively suspend the country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as Iran insists it will not give up its civilian nuclear programme in the wake of massive attacks on the country by Israel and the United States.

The move on Wednesday comes after a US and Qatar-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel ended 12 days of fierce hostilities – including an intensive US military intervention that struck three Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that parliament voted to suspend – but not end – cooperation with the IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.