Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have agreed to continue consultations on the Iranian nuclear issue following the visit to Tehran by Massimo Aparo, the IAEA’s Deputy Director for Non-Proliferation. “Taking into account the discussions held during the meeting, it was decided to continue consultations,” Kazem Gharib-Abadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs said.
Aparo and his delegation left Tehran after conducting the agency’s first meeting with Iranian officials since the Israeli and US attacks on Iran in June. Ahead of the visit, the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that renewed talks between the Islamic Republic and the IAEA would be “complicated” and “technical”, with Iran refusing to allow the agency to inspect its nuclear sites. Iran still blames the agency for facilitating the bombing of its nuclear facilities. Iranian officials said a politically-motivated IAEA resolution had paved the way for the 12 days of attacks noting the agency’s failure to condemn the assault.
Gharibabadi emphasised that future cooperation will depend on meaningful IAEA reforms. During talks, the Iranian delegation strongly criticised the IAEA’s silence in response to the June attacks against nuclear facilities in Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz. He said Iran’s “strong objections” to the agency’s inaction were formally communicated, demanding corrective measures for its “improper processes” regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.
In July, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had officially signed into law a bill passed by Parliament in June that obliges the administration to suspend cooperation with the IAEA. According to the presidential office, Pezeshkian enforced the legislation in line with Article 123 of the Constitution, sending the directive to the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), the Supreme National Security Council, and the Foreign Ministry for implementation. The new law also bars IAEA inspectors from entering Iran and prohibits the installation of surveillance cameras at nuclear facilities.
The Chairman of Iranian Parliament’s National Security & Foreign Policy Commission, Ebrahim Azizi, earlier stressed that, in future, Iran’s interaction with foreign organisations will be limited to technical cooperation with the purpose of exchanging expert views and resolving ambiguities. He stated that the restrictions are final and irreversible.
The Israeli-US airstrikes took place while negotiations had been underway on the possibility of reviving the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). After years of contentious negotiations moderated by the IAEA, Iran had signed the JCPOA with the P5+1 group of countries (the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany) under which it agreed to limit its nuclear development programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. UN Security Council sanctions on Iran were lifted but sanctions imposed by the US and European countries continued and in 2018 the US withdrew from the deal.
In response, Iran resumed nuclear construction and enrichment activities after notifying the IAEA. As a result, US and European sanctions were tightened further. The UK, France, and Germany (the E3) had previously warned they would reinstate UN sanctions on Tehran if no new agreement was reached by the end of August. Under the UN Security Council resolution implementing the nuclear accord, international sanctions could be reimposed on Iran through a “snapback” mechanism that would take about 30 days. The E3 said they plan to trigger snapback unless Iran provides a “firm, tangible, and verifiable commitment” to fully cooperate with the IAEA and agree to other measures to curb its nuclear activities.
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has now reportedly advised Iranian companies to prepare for a “snap back” of the UN sanctions. The ministry urged the companies to “identify alternative suppliers in countries like China, Russia, Iraq, etc., which will be less affected by sanctions.”
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) stressed that Iran would not give in to pressure. “The Iranian nation is not one to surrender to bullying,” he said. “Such double standards and attempts to block Iran’s entry into advanced scientific fields are representative of the very hegemonic system that spends enormous sums of money to deprive our nation of nuclear and other modern technologies,” he noted.
He added that no Western power or their allies would ever criticise Israel’s nuclear weapons capability, despite Tel Aviv’s not being either a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or subject to IAEA Safeguards. He also called on the IAEA to clearly and immediately condemn Israel’s assassination of Iran’s nuclear scientist in the strongest terms.
“Israel is neither a member of the NPT nor a member of the safeguards, but it has influence in the International Atomic Energy Agency and with this influence it exploits the confidential information of countries,” he said.
