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A senior UN nuclear agency official will travel to Iran on Monday for discussions, but no visits to nuclear facilities are scheduled, according to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday.
Since Israel launched military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day conflict in June, IAEA inspectors have been unable to access Iran’s facilities, despite IAEA Director Rafael Grossi emphasizing that inspections remain a top priority. Iran has accused the agency of facilitating the bombings by releasing a critical report on May 31, which prompted the IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors to declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation commitments.
Iran, denying any intent to develop nuclear weapons, reaffirmed its commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Araghchi stated on his Telegram account that negotiations with the IAEA would occur the next day to establish a cooperative framework. He mentioned that a deputy director general from Grossi will visit Tehran, but no nuclear site visits are planned until an agreement is reached.
Last month, Iran ceased cooperation with the IAEA, criticizing the agency for not condemning Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear sites. Israel’s attacks derailed nuclear negotiations between Iran and the US that had resumed in April—the highest-level contact since the US abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
Following the conflict, Iran has demanded security guarantees before resuming talks with the US. Araghchi recently indicated that Iran has received messages from the US about resuming negotiations, but he clarified that nothing has been finalized yet.
On July 25, Iranian diplomats met with representatives from Germany, Britain, and France, who warned of imposing sanctions by August’s end if Iran fails to reach an agreement on its nuclear program. These sanctions, under the “snapback mechanism,” would restore UN sanctions lifted in 2015 as part of the nuclear deal. The mechanism’s deadline is October, and Iran has warned of repercussions if activated.
Araghchi added that diplomatic contacts with Europeans are ongoing, but no date has been set for the next round of talks.
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