Iran Says Cooperation With UN Nuclear Inspectors To Continue

Iran will continue to engage with the UN’s nuclear watchdog even after it announced the suspension of cooperation, the country’s top diplomat said, boosting hopes for oversight of its contested atomic program despite Israel’s attacks.

“Cooperation with @iaeaorg will be channeled through Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for obvious safety and security reasons,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. He was responding to a post by the German Foreign Office that criticized a law passed in Tehran last week that said cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency had been suspended.

“Iran remains committed to the NPT and its Safeguards Agreement,” Araghchi added, referring to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which aims to halt the spread of nuclear weapons and a separate agreement with the IAEA that sought to boost confidence in what the Islamic Republic says are peaceful atomic activities.

The comments could allay fears that Tehran will withdraw from the NPT altogether in the wake of the 12-day war with Israel last month, which killed 935 Iranians and around 30 Israelis. 

UN inspectors remained in the country throughout the conflict, in which the US also intervened, but have been unable to visit nuclear sites since it began, sparking concerns over the whereabouts of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The Supreme National Security Council is a 13-member body that’s largely appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It also includes the president, heads of the parliament and judiciary, and the foreign minister.

The US bombing set back Iran’s nuclear program by one to two years, the Pentagon said overnight.