The return of IAEA inspectors was approved by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and was for supervising a fuel swap at the Bushehr nuclear plant, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday.
Araghchi stressed that no agreement had yet been finalized with the UN nuclear watchdog regarding a broader framework for cooperation.
He also said the law passed by parliament after the June Israeli and US strikes — requiring all IAEA inspections to be approved by the Supreme National Security Council — had been observed. “All IAEA requests go to the Supreme National Security Council, which makes decisions in accordance with the law,” he said.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also defended the move, saying on Wednesday that the inspectors’ return was lawful and complied with the terms of the new legislation. “The law passed by parliament in this regard has been observed,” he said.
Hardline lawmakers push back
Despite these assurances, several lawmakers sharply criticized the decision. MP Amirhossein Sabeti said a document claiming to outline the terms of a new deal between Iran and the IAEA had reached parliament and called it “a disaster.”
“If it’s false, deny it — we’ll be glad,” he said. “But if it’s true, this agreement guarantees the next war,” warning that the document required Iran to hand over pre- and post-attack data that could guide future Israeli strikes.
Kamran Ghazanfari also objected, saying the return of inspectors violated the parliament’s legislation. “This is a clear breach of the law,” he said, warning that legal action could be taken against the head of the SNSC if cooperation continued without meeting parliamentary conditions.
No finalized text with IAEA, Araghchi says
Addressing these concerns, Araghchi emphasized that no finalized agreement—referred to by some as a new “modality” framework—had been reached with the IAEA. “Some texts have been exchanged and positions presented, but no draft has been finalized,” he told Khaneye Mellat, parliament’s official outlet.
“I don’t know where the text referenced by the lawmaker came from, but it is not a negotiated or agreed document,” Araghchi added.
IAEA inspections resume amid international pressure
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed on Tuesday that the agency’s inspectors had returned to Iran for the first time since their expulsion during the June conflict. “Now the first team of IAEA inspectors is back in Iran, and we are about to restart,” he said.
France, Germany, and the UK are tying Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA to their decision on whether to trigger the UN snapback sanctions mechanism by the end of August. Tehran has rejected the legality of such a move.
