The New York Times reports:

Iran’s president has enacted a law to suspend cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday, in a move that will shut out international inspectors from overseeing the country’s contested nuclear program.

The decision will further strain relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which were already at a low point since the start of the 12-day war with Israel and the United States that battered Iran’s nuclear facilities and brought calls from Israel for renewed sanctions on Iran.

Iran could feel that it needs to start work on building a weapon as a deterrent to future attacks, experts have warned. But Iran’s move to cut ties with the I.A.E.A. may also be a tactic to gain leverage in new negotiations with the Trump administration over the future of the Iranian nuclear program.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes. The I.A.E.A. has said that while it had no evidence that Iran was building a weapon, the country was stockpiling around 882 pounds of highly enriched uranium, which could enable the government to build 10 bombs. [Continue reading…]