The Non-Proliferation Farce: How the IAEA Betrayed Iran

An explosive investigation by The Grayzone sheds new light on the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency, revealing a high-level British agent's infiltration of its inner workings. The picture that emerges is of a compromised agency used as geopolitical leverage to strike Iran under the cover of multilateral neutrality.

Who is Nicholas Langman: A Shadow Career Curriculum

The protagonist of the investigation is Nicholas Langman , a veteran of MI6, known for a career studded with cover-ups and scandals. According to confidential documents obtained by The Grayzone , Langman would not only have operated undercover within the IAEA, but would even boast in his official documents of having influenced the architecture of Western sanctions against Tehran , playing a decisive role in the mechanisms of the UN nuclear agency and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

This is not the first time Langman's name has been mentioned in controversial contexts. He was implicated in the Princess Diana case , in Greece he was accused of supervising the torture of Pakistani migrants , and in both cases the UK imposed media censorship to prevent his identity from emerging. Nevertheless, the Greek media identified him as an MI6 agent.

Torchlight and the parallel networks of British intelligence

Langman is a senior member of the Torchlight group, an apparently independent structure but linked to British intelligence. His role – according to the leaked curriculum – would have been to “lead multi-agency teams to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”, a task that included covert operations and coercive diplomacy disguised as international collaboration .

Thus emerges a scenario in which the IAEA is being used as an operational vehicle of the West , directed by an intelligence agent who actively collaborated with American, Israeli, European and Middle Eastern colleagues to build a case against Iran.

The IAEA as the technical arm of undeclared war

Iran’s long-standing suspicion that the IAEA was anything but impartial is thus confirmed by internal Western sources. Langman, in his resume, takes credit for shaping the “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran and for contributing to the diplomatic and economic isolation of the Islamic Republic, paving the way for the infamous 2015 JCPOA agreement.

This “diplomatic success”, as he himself defines it, is however the fruit of a work of preventive sabotage, which involved the targeted elimination of Iranian scientists, the imposition of devastating sanctions and the militarization of multilateral intelligence .

From Diplomacy to War: The Degeneration of the Nuclear Deal

Between 2010 and 2012 – the years that coincide with Langman’s IAEA activity – sanctions against Tehran accelerated, while Israel conducted lethal operations against the leaders of the Iranian nuclear program. These actions culminated in the assassination of physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020 , which many analysts believe was facilitated by information leaked through the IAEA.

The agency, under the leadership of Rafael Grossi, published a report in June 2025 that was strongly contested by Iran , which Israel used as a pretext to launch an air strike that killed scientists and civilians. Tehran responded by expelling inspectors and severing ties with the IAEA .

The Illusion of Neutrality: When the UN Becomes an Intelligence Tool

The most disturbing aspect of this investigation is the confirmation that apparently multilateral and independent bodies such as the IAEA are in reality vulnerable to infiltration and instrumentalization by the great powers . Operation Langman is not a deviation, but yet another example of how UN agencies are co-opted for geopolitical ends, in a context in which international law is reduced to a screen for hybrid wars.

An attack on truth and the principle of sovereignty

The Langman case marks a point of no return in the credibility of the IAEA and of any multilateral mechanism that wants to present itself as “neutral”. For Iran, it is the confirmation that it cannot be treated as equals in a rigged system . For global public opinion, it is the alarm bell of a world in which information, diplomacy and technology are increasingly bent to occult interests , and the truth is sacrificed on the altar of permanent war.

In a historical moment in which we speak of a “rules-based international order”, this investigation clearly shows that the rules are written by those who break them first , and that transparency has never been a value of the West, but a one-way weapon.

Original source: Spying for sanctions: how MI6 infiltrated the IAEA to target Iran – The Grayzone , 1 July 2025

Tehran accuses IAEA of secret plot with Israel: internal correspondence emerges

I recall that on June 12, 2025, Iranian media made public a series of documents obtained from Tehran, which allegedly revealed an alleged collusion between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Israel, aimed at damaging Iran's nuclear program .

BREAKING | Leaked documents released by Iranian media report reveal that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has been fully coordinating with Israel and carrying out its directives.

These files are part of the sensitive intelligence cache Iran… pic.twitter.com/cmnjIIJL3X

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 12, 2025

The main accusations

• The documents reveal email exchanges in Hebrew between Israel's former permanent representative to the IAEA, Merav Zafary-Odiz (2014–2016), and senior officials of the Agency, including Director General Rafael Grossi. Tehran claims that the correspondence in question demonstrates real "secret coordination" between Grossi and Israeli authorities, with frequent meetings (one documented on May 10, 2016) aimed at orienting attention and strategies against Iran .

• According to Iranian intelligence, this alliance would not only be about creating media pressure, but would be part of a broader plan to diplomatically weaken Tehran, just a few months after the 2015 JCPOA euratom agreement .

#BREAKING | #Iranian state media has released the first batch of classified documents obtained through a major intelligence operation targeting "Israel". 1/3 pic.twitter.com/u3buFooHdX

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 12, 2025

Tactical and narrative objectives

• The documents outline a strategy to intensify scrutiny of Iran's commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in order to divert attention from Israel's – allegedly undeclared – nuclear program .

• According to Tehran, the IAEA under Grossi's leadership acted not as an impartial supervisor, but as a political tool aimed at delegitimizing Iran's right to develop peaceful nuclear applications .