Iran agrees to IAEA visit in coming weeks

United Nations: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said here that Tehran has agreed to receive a technical team of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which will visit Iran in two to three weeks.

The visit from the IAEA technical delegation to Iran will happen “very soon, in two to three weeks,” Gharibabadi told reporters on Wednesday.

He said the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran is assessing the damages to the nuclear installations, and “the delegation will come to Iran to discuss the modality, not to go to the (nuclear) sites.”

Gharibabadi added that if a new round of negotiations between the US and Iran takes place, it will only be done indirectly, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Monday, Gharibabadi held a special meeting with the ambassadors of the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, during which he “detailed the dimensions of the recent acts of aggression” by Israel and the US against Iran, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Gharibabadi said a bill passed by Iran’s Parliament mandates the suspension of all cooperation with the IAEA and that its resumption depends on ensuring the safety and security of Iran’s nuclear facilities and



personnel.

“Accordingly, we have agreed to the visit of the IAEA technical team to Tehran within the next two to three weeks to discuss the framework for cooperation,” he noted.

The senior diplomat characterised the decision as another gesture of goodwill by Iran, despite its dissatisfaction with the IAEA’s approach.

“We hope this initiative will be welcomed and that they will value such cooperation and goodwill,” he said.

On threats by the three European members of the 2015 nuclear deal to invoke the accord’s so-called snapback mechanism to restore anti-Iran sanctions, Gharibabadi warned that Iran will react seriously to such a decision.

“In fact, the Europeans have no right to initiate the snapback mechanism. But if they do, Iran will not remain passive. We will respond. We are obliged to respond,” he said.

The diplomat added that he cannot rule out Iran deciding to withdraw from the NPT, noting that the decision has previously been considered by Iran’s former administration.

“That option remains on the table. However, what other measures Iran may take is still under review by officials in Tehran. Without a doubt, there will be a reaction, part of which has already been determined,” the diplomat said.