Iran agrees to UN nuclear watchdog team visit in coming weeks

Iran has consented to host a technical delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the coming weeks to discuss the framework of their bilateral engagement, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced.

The visit is set to focus exclusively on procedural and diplomatic matters, rather than site inspections, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“The delegation will come to Iran to discuss the modality, not to go to the (nuclear) sites,” Gharibabadi told reporters during a trip to New York for United Nations meetings. The statement comes amid heightened international scrutiny following recent airstrikes by Israel and the United States targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

While the IAEA refrained from commenting specifically on Gharibabadi’s remarks, it confirmed that Director General Rafael Grossi remains “actively engaging with all parties involved in the Iran nuclear issue.” The agency has underscored the critical importance of resuming on-site inspections in Iran to monitor the country’s nuclear activities, especially after the attacks aimed at halting Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons ambitions—a claim Tehran vehemently denies, asserting its program is strictly for peaceful purposes.

“Our Atomic Energy Organization is assessing, actually, the damages to the nuclear installations, and we are waiting to receive their report. In this regard, it’s a very dangerous work. We do not know what has happened there ... because of the risks of the radiation,” Gharibabadi cautioned.

Diplomatic circles have voiced acute concern over approximately 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium stockpiles, the status of which remains undisclosed to the IAEA. Responding to queries, Gharibabadi stated, “The IAEA has not officially asked about the fate of those stocks and... Tehran cannot say anything now because we do not have any valid and credible report from (Iran’s) Atomic Energy Organization.”

Further negotiations regarding the future of Iran’s nuclear program hinge on Tehran’s continued cooperation with the IAEA. Relations were strained earlier this year when the agency accused Iran of breaching non-proliferation treaty obligations just prior to the Israeli strikes.

Gharibabadi also revealed plans to travel to Istanbul to meet with Britain, France, and Germany—the remaining European signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—on July 25. China and Russia, other signatories to the deal abandoned by the US in 2018, continue to participate in the diplomatic efforts.

Meanwhile, Iran and the United States have engaged in five rounds of indirect talks mediated by Oman this year, focusing on enhancing transparency around Tehran’s nuclear program and negotiating the phased lifting of US sanctions.

By Vafa Guliyeva