Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokeswoman for the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, announced Monday that Iran's stock exchange and financial markets will remain closed until further notice due to ongoing military tensions with Israel.
She said the decision was made “to protect the public’s financial assets.” Since the conflict began, the Iranian rial has sharply declined against foreign currencies.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in Vienna said Monday that expecting Tehran to continue its voluntary commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is “unjustified” while its treaty rights are ignored and its nuclear sites are targeted by a non-member state.
The statement, cited by Iranian state media, comes amid growing internal calls for Iran to withdraw from the NPT. On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that parliament is preparing a bill to leave the treaty, while reiterating Iran’s opposition to weapons of mass destruction.
Separately, a member of parliament’s national security committee said the draft bill could be introduced as early as Tuesday.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said Monday that the ongoing military escalation between Israel and Iran is disrupting essential diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“This military escalation delays indispensable work towards a diplomatic solution for the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon,” Grossi said, during an exceptional meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna.
Grossi confirmed that four buildings at Iran’s Isfahan site were damaged in Friday’s Israeli strikes, including a uranium conversion facility, a fuel manufacturing plant, a central chemical laboratory, and a UF4 to EU metal processing facility. However, he noted that no damage had been observed at the Fordow fuel enrichment plant or the Khondab heavy water reactor, which is still under construction.
The IAEA chief said the agency remains present in Iran and that inspections would resume “as soon as safety conditions allow,” in line with Tehran’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “I am in touch with the inspectors on the ground; their safety remains our top priority,” he added.
Grossi also acknowledged ongoing cooperation and information sharing between the Iranian authorities and the IAEA.
