Iran says deputy chief of UN nuclear watchdog to visit Tehran on Monday

ISTANBUL

The deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Tehran on Monday, the Iranian foreign minister said Sunday.

“A deputy director general of [Rafael] Grossi will come to Tehran tomorrow, while there are no plans to visit any nuclear sites until we reach a framework, and [our] bilateral cooperation will not begin,” Abbas Araghchi said following a cabinet meeting.

“Negotiations with the IAEA will be held tomorrow (Monday) to determine a framework for cooperation,” he added in his comments carried by the state news agency IRNA.

On June 25, Iran’s parliament passed legislation suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing the IAEA of bias toward Israel and the US during their recent attacks on the country.

Araghchi stressed that Iran’s contacts with the Europeans “are continuing.”

“They have brought up the issue of the snapback mechanism, but our position is that snapback is not relevant. In our opinion, Europe is not considered a participant in the JCPOA,” he said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal.

European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal threatened to reinstate UN sanctions under the so-called snapback mechanism if Tehran failed to return to nuclear negotiations over its nuclear program.

Iran was holding Oman-mediated nuclear negotiations with the US when Israel launched a surprise attack on Tehran June 13, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, while the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites.

The 12-day conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.