Iranian foreign minister to meet IAEA chief in Egypt, Cairo confirms

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry confirms that Cairo will host a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi, the first such meeting since Tehran suspended cooperation with the agency two months ago.

Egypt’s foreign ministry says the meeting, which was earlier announced by Iran, will take place Tuesday, and include Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

“During a trip to Cairo, a meeting will be held with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency to conclude negotiations on a new protocol for interaction between Iran and the Agency,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

It will be the first meeting between Tehran and the IAEA chief since Iran suspended cooperation following a 12-day war with Israel in June, during which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran is currently under growing pressure to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and resume inspections, as Britain, France, and Germany have initiated steps to reimpose UN sanctions under the agreement’s dispute resolution mechanism.

On Monday, Grossi said progress had been made in talks between Iran and the IAEA, but time was running low with an agreement yet to be clinched.