Iran, IAEA talks focus on forging new engagement framework

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
Today 00:06

During the IAEA envoy’s visit to Tehran, Iran urged changes to the agency’s handling of its nuclear case and condemned US and Israeli aggression.

A flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP)

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed that Massimo Aparo, Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), concluded his visit to Tehran after conducting talks with Iranian officials on a revised approach to their cooperation.

Gharibabadi announced on Monday that further consultations will continue based on the discussions held during the visit.

The Iranian delegation, including the Director General for Peace and International Security at the Foreign Ministry and an advisor from the Atomic Energy Organization, expressed strong criticism and condemnation of the IAEA’s failure to fulfill its duties amid recent aggression by "Israel" and the United States against Iran.

Gharibabadi stressed that the IAEA envoy was clearly informed of Iran’s demands to address and correct what Tehran views as flawed procedures in the agency’s handling of its nuclear dossier.

Addressing the visit, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, “there is no plan to visit any nuclear site before reaching an agreed framework,” stressing that this framework “will be based on the law of the Islamic Consultative Assembly” and that “cooperation will not begin before that.”

Araghchi criticizes IAEA 'poor conduct' over Israeli strikes on Iran

Last week, Araghchi sharply criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its "poor conduct" before and after the illegal and brutal US-Israeli strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.

Speaking in a televised interview, Araghchi called the attacks “the gravest violation of international law” and said they represented an “absolutely unforgivable” breach of international norms. He accused both the United States and the Israeli entity of engaging in direct aggression against Iran, assassinating military commanders and nuclear scientists, and killing hundreds of civilians.

In the aftermath of the attacks and the IAEA’s failure to issue any condemnation, Iran’s Parliament passed a law on June 25 mandating the suspension of cooperation with the agency. The law blocks IAEA inspectors from accessing Iranian nuclear sites unless the Supreme National Security Council approves their entry based on guaranteed protection for Iranian nuclear facilities.

Araghchi declared that the IAEA had failed in its responsibility to safeguard peaceful nuclear programs and criticized its silence as enabling aggression. He argued that the recent developments require a “new chapter” in Iran-IAEA cooperation, saying the previous framework is no longer valid.

"Given all these realities, there is a need to set up a new framework for cooperation with the agency. The previous framework does not certainly work,” he stressed.