Iran announces its agreement to a new cooperation framework with the International Atomic Energy Agency

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement in Cairo on Tuesday to resume inspections of Iranian nuclear sites, which were halted after the war launched by Israel last June.

The agreement on “Technical Conditions for Inspection between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency” was signed in the Egyptian capital between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Grossi described the agreement with Tehran on a practical mechanism for resuming inspection activities at its nuclear facilities as an important step in the right direction.

Tuesday’s meeting is the first since Tehran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in protest over the agency’s failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.

During their visit to Egypt, Araghchi and Grossi held two separate meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and then held a trilateral meeting.

The Egyptian president considered the agreement a step that will persuade the concerned parties to retreat from any escalatory steps and pave the way for diplomacy and dialogue, paving the way for a return to the negotiating table and reaching a peaceful settlement to the Iranian nuclear program.

“We hope that the agreement will open the door to…bringing closer views with the three European countries, allowing for an understanding that will lead to a return to the negotiating table between Iran and the United States, in preparation for reaching a comprehensive and satisfactory agreement,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty said at a joint press conference with Araghchi and Grossi in Cairo.

He stressed that both sides had shown a clear will for dialogue and reaching practical understandings.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a statement to Iranian state television following the Cairo meeting, “Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have reached an understanding on how to deal with the new circumstances following the unlawful attacks by the Zionist regime and the United States against our peaceful nuclear facilities”.

In light of the Islamic Republic’s decision to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, IAEA inspectors must now obtain permission from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Weeks after the suspension of cooperation, IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran for the first time at the end of August and conducted a brief visit to the Bushehr reactor.

Iranian authorities didn’t allow inspectors to visit the Natanz and Fordow reactors, which were targeted by Israeli and US attacks in June.

Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to possess nuclear weapons, while Iran has repeatedly affirmed the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.