UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi is “a Mossad agent” who should be arrested if he visits Tehran, Iranian lawmaker Javad Hosseini-Kia said on Wednesday, as Grossi and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signed a cooperation deal in Cairo.
Parliament pushes back
Hosseini-Kia’s remarks reflect a broader backlash in parliament, where lawmakers say the Cairo accord ignores legislation suspending cooperation with the agency. National Security and Foreign Policy Commission member Mohammadreza Mohseni-Sani said inspectors have “no right” to enter Iran until nuclear sites damaged in June’s US and Israeli strikes are restored. “If the 30-day snapback period ends with sanctions restored, we will pursue and approve a plan to leave the NPT,” he warned.
Calls for tougher measures
Some lawmakers have gone further, arguing Iran should no longer limit itself to peaceful nuclear work. Ahmad Bakhshayesh, also on the security commission, told state media Iran should build a bomb because it has already “paid the costs” in the 12-day conflict. “We should have built it long ago,” he said. “We should have built it without leaving the NPT.”
Parliament is already considering a bill to withdraw from the treaty, though former nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi has said only Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can make that decision.
Former officials urge caution
While hardliners demand confrontation, Salehi has struck a different note. The former atomic energy chief called the Cairo accord “positive and a step forward” but warned time is short. “Opportunities are like passing clouds,” he said. “The longer it takes, the more complicated the problem will become.”
‘Cursed agreement’ denounced
Even those who stop short of calling for a bomb or leaving the NPT have used sharp words. Hardline lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian described Araghchi’s Cairo accord as a “cursed agreement.” On X, he accused Grossi of being “the spy and the cursed one, who caused the martyrdom of hundreds of our commanders, scientists and compatriots.”
Pattern of hostility toward Grossi
The latest attacks on Grossi build on threats voiced earlier this summer. In July, deputy judiciary chief Ali Mozaffari said Grossi could face trial in absentia for “deceptive actions and falsified reports” that Iran claims enabled strikes on nuclear facilities. At the time, a hardline newspaper even called for his execution.
Those comments drew condemnation from Britain, France and Germany, which expressed “full support” for Grossi and the IAEA. European powers last month triggered the snapback mechanism, giving Tehran until later in September to comply or face restored UN sanctions.
Government defends Cairo deal
Despite the criticism, Araghchi insists the Cairo agreement safeguards Iran’s interests. He said it “recognizes Iran’s legitimate security concerns” but “creates no access.” Any inspections, he explained, will only be discussed after Iran submits reports in later talks
The rights group said more than 800 people had been executed in 2025 so far, nearly double the pace of last year, and warned that thousands more remain under investigation or prosecution on capital charges, including drug-related offences and accusations of espionage.
Since the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, Amnesty said, Iranian authorities have “weaponized the death penalty as a tool of oppression”.
In June, following Israel’s airstrikes and a 12-day war with Iran, officials intensified calls for swift trials and executions for those accused of collaborating with Israel. Parliament has also advanced legislation to expand the use of capital punishment, pending approval by the Guardian Council.
“The authorities are carrying out executions on a horrific scale,” Amnesty said, urging Tehran to halt all planned executions, quash existing sentences, and declare an official moratorium with a view to abolition.
According to the UN Office for Human Rights, at least 841 executions were carried out between January and late August, compared with 429 during the same period in 2024.
Rights monitors say executions are disproportionately affecting minorities, including Afghans, Baluchis and Kurds.
The warning comes days after Iran executed protester Mehran Bahramian in Isfahan despite allegations of torture and international appeals to halt his sentence. He was the latest detainee from the 2022 unrest to be put to death on charges of “enmity against God.”
Iran’s judiciary has defended its use of capital punishment as enforcement of Islamic law and a deterrent against serious crime, particularly drug trafficking.
But rights groups argue Revolutionary Courts lack independence and routinely deny defendants fair trial rights, including access to lawyers and protection from torture.
Amnesty said rhetoric from senior officials, including Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, calling for “1988-style executions” against perceived collaborators, has fueled fears of mass killings reminiscent of past prison massacres.
“Iran accounted for nearly two-thirds of all known executions worldwide in 2024,” Amnesty said. “The current trajectory shows an even darker year ahead unless immediate action is taken.”