UN nuclear watchdog to visit Iran in next two weeks

Tehran recently passed a bill restricting co-operation with the IAEA

Iran has blamed the IAEA for providing Israel with the pretext to start a war. Reuters

The UN nuclear watchdog will visit Iran within the next two weeks, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. It will be the first such visit since Tehran passed a parliamentary bill restricting co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The IAEA has said it must be allowed to resume inspections after Israeli and US air strikes last month that aimed to destroy Iran's nuclear programme and deny it the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its programme is strictly peaceful.

Iran has blamed the IAEA for providing Israel with the pretext to start a war after a report accusing Tehran of hiding enriched uranium. After the 12-day war ended, a bill passed in Iran's parliament restricting Tehran's co-operation with the watchdog.

The bill, which has now become law, stipulates that any future inspection of Iran's nuclear sites by the IAEA needs approval by Tehran's Supreme National Security Council. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said a manual regarding future co-operation with the agency will be presented during the visit. The UN nuclear watchdog is particularly concerned about the whereabouts of Iran's stocks of some 400kg of highly enriched uranium.

On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the CBS News show Face The Nation that Western governments were seeking a “comprehensive agreement” with Iran, in part to avert the “risk” that it could covertly pursue a nuclear weapon. “Regarding matters related to our defence capabilities, there will absolutely be no discussion,” Mr Baghaei said in response during his weekly press briefing.

Mr Barrot's comments came after a meeting on Friday between Iranian diplomats and counterparts from France, Germany and Britain – the first nuclear talks since the war with Israel. The European countries, also known as the E3, have in recent weeks threatened to trigger a "snapback mechanism" which would reinstate UN sanctions on Iran.

Tehran has warned it might withdraw from the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty if sanctions were reimposed. “One cannot expect a country to remain in the treaty while being deprived of its stated rights, particularly the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Mr Baghaei said.

Israel's attacks on Iran last month hit vital nuclear and military sites but also residential areas, and killed top commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of others. The US briefly joined the war, striking nuclear sites. The war derailed nuclear negotiations that were under way between Washington and Tehran since April 12.

In an interview with Iran's state TV aired on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the decision to engage diplomatically towards a ceasefire was “what prevented the war from spiralling into a wider regional catastrophe”.

Mr Araghchi said he had survived an assassination attempt during the war. A bomb had been placed outside his house but security forces “took control of it”, he said. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian previously said he was lightly injured during an Israeli attack.