Tehran says inspectors still banned from nuclear sites as UN watchdog touts deal

Iran’s new cooperation framework with the UN nuclear watchdog includes “all facilities and installations in Iran,” agency head Rafael Grossi says, but Iran’s foreign minister says it does not provide for inspectors to access any nuclear sites.

Iran agreed to a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday, after having suspended cooperation following the war with Israel in June.

Grossi says the agreement document “provides for a clear understanding of the procedures for inspections.”

It “includes all facilities and installations in Iran, and it also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those,” Grossi tells the Vienna-based agency’s Board of Governors meeting.

But Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says in an interview on state TV that no access to Iranian nuclear sites is provided to IAEA inspectors under the new agreement.

He says the nature of inspectors’ access in Iran will be determined in future negotiations.

Grossi says “Iran and the agency will now resume cooperation in a respectful and comprehensive way,” calling for “practical steps” to be implemented immediately.

“There may be difficulties and issues to be resolved for sure, but we now know what we have to do,” he adds.