Iran mentioned on Wednesday (August 27, 2025) that the return of U.N. nuclear inspectors did not symbolize a full resumption of cooperation, which was suspended within the aftermath of June assaults by Israel and the United States.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency started work on the key nuclear website of Bushehr in southwestern Iran, the nuclear watchdog’s chief Rafael Grossi mentioned, the primary crew to enter the nation since Tehran formally suspended cooperation with the U.N. company final month.
“No final text has yet been approved on the new cooperation framework with the IAEA and views are being exchanged,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned, quoted by state tv.
The company’s inspectors left Iran after Israel launched its unprecedented assault on June 13, placing nuclear and navy services in addition to residential areas and killing greater than 1,000 individuals.
Washington later joined in with strikes on nuclear services at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone assaults that killed dozens in Israel. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.
Iran subsequently suspended its cooperation with the IAEA, citing the company’s failure to sentence the Israeli and US assaults.
But on Wednesday Mr. Grossi mentioned the inspectors had been “there now”, including: “Today they are inspecting Bushehr.”
Under the regulation suspending cooperation, inspectors could entry Iranian nuclear websites solely with the approval of the nation’s prime safety physique, the Supreme National Security Council.
Tehran has mentioned repeatedly that future cooperation with the company will take “a new form”.
The spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Behrouz Kamalvandi, mentioned the IAEA inspectors would oversee the alternative of gasoline on the Bushehr nuclear energy plant.
He made no point out of whether or not inspectors could be allowed entry to different websites, together with Fordo and Natanz, which had been hit in the course of the struggle.
Threats of reimposition of U.N. sanctions
Mr. Grossi, on a go to to Washington, mentioned discussions about inspecting different websites had been underway with no speedy settlement.
“We are continuing the conversation so that we can go to all places, including the facilities that have been impacted,” he mentioned.
He mentioned that Iran can not prohibit inspectors solely to “non-attacked facilities.”
“There is no such thing as a la carte inspection work.”
The return of inspectors got here after Iranian diplomats held talks with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva on Tuesday.
Their second spherical of talks for the reason that Israeli assaults included dialogue of European threats to set off the reimposition of U.N. sanctions in opposition to Iran earlier than they’re completely lifted in mid-October.
The window for triggering the so-called “snapback mechanism” of a moribund 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and main powers closes on October 18.
During their earlier assembly with Iran in July, the three European powers instructed extending the snapback deadline if Tehran resumed negotiations with the United States and cooperation with the IAEA, the Financial Times reported.
Iran later dismissed the Europeans’ proper to increase the deadline, and mentioned it was working with its allies China and Russia to stop the reimposition of sanctions.
Iran’s deputy international minister Karim Gharibabadi on Wednesday mentioned that if the snapback is triggered, “the path of interaction that we have now opened with the International Atomic Energy Agency will also be completely affected and will probably stop.”
On Tuesday, Russia circulated a draft U.N. Security Council decision aimed toward pushing again the deadline for triggering snapback sanctions by six months, in line with the textual content seen by AFP.
The Russian proposal does not set preconditions for the deadline extension.
Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, mentioned that the up to date proposal was designed to “give more breathing space for diplomacy”, including that he hoped it “will be acceptable”.
“It will be kind of a litmus test for those who really want to uphold diplomatic efforts, and for those who don’t want any diplomatic solution, but just want to pursue their own nationalist, selfish agendas against Iran,” he advised media.
