Iran, IAEA agree to resume nuke inspections

CAIRO/VIENNA — Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement on Tuesday to resume cooperation, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said.

He made the announcement during a joint news conference here with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi.

Iran and the IAEA have agreed to enhance their cooperation in a way that respects Iranian sovereignty and protects the security of the Iranian people, Araghchi said, affirming that Iran will not compromise its nuclear policy or rights again.

Abdelatty said Iran has a desire to return to negotiations on its nuclear program, and that Egypt is working to bring the views of European countries and Iran closer, and to de-escalate the situation in the region.

"In Cairo today, (I) agreed with Iran's foreign minister … on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran," Grossi said on social media platform X.

His posts also included photos of him signing documents with Araghchi.

Meanwhile, Araghchi said in an interview aired on Wednesday that Tehran is withholding access to UN nuclear inspectors despite the agreement.

"Based on this agreement, currently no access is given to the IAEA inspectors," Araghchi told state television, referring to the UN watchdog.

"This agreement itself does not create any access. Based on the reports that Iran will provide later, the type of access should be negotiated in due course," he added.

Iran suspended its cooperation with the IAEA after the Israeli-US strikes on its nuclear facilities and the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists in June.

After the suspension, Iran said any inspections by the IAEA must be approved by Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and that the suspension will continue until guarantees are provided for the safety of its nuclear sites and scientists.

Before the latest round of talks in Cairo, Iran and the IAEA held talks in Vienna on Friday and Saturday.

The agreement comes against the backdrop of an ongoing threat by European powers to reimpose wide-ranging sanctions against Iran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.

Those European powers, France, Britain and Germany, known as the E3, have initiated the so-called "snapback" process that is due to run until late this month. They have said they will only hold off on completing it if Iran allows inspections to resume, accounts for its highly enriched uranium stockpile and holds nuclear talks with the United States.

Tuesday's framework deal is aimed at moving toward addressing those first two conditions, but it is unclear whether enough can or will be achieved by this month's deadline to satisfy the Europeans and fend off snapback for the time being.

"Let me emphasize: in the event of any hostile action against Iran — including the reinstatement of canceled UN Security Council resolutions — Iran will consider these practical steps null and void," Araghchi said in a statement, referring to sanctions resolutions.

Xinhua - Agencies