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Iran, IAEA announce agreement on resuming nuclear inspections
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 9, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 9, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Iran and the IAEA have agreed to resume nuclear inspections, a move that could ease tensions and prevent European sanctions. Details are still pending.
DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday they had reached a deal on resuming inspections at sites including those bombed by the U.S. and Israel but gave no specifics, and Tehran warned the West the deal was off if sanctions were re-imposed.
The agreement, struck between International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi at a meeting in Cairo, should in principle pave the way for a full resumption of inspections interrupted by the military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June.
Diplomats warned, however, that the devil was in the detail and neither Grossi not Araqchi provided any at a joint press conference on their agreement covering what the IAEA has been calling "modalities" on how inspections can resume.
"In Cairo today, (I) agreed with Iran's Foreign Minister ... on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran," Grossi said on X at the same time at the press conference. "This is an important step in the right direction."
The agreement comes against the backdrop of an ongoing threat by European powers to re-impose wide-ranging sanctions against Iran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
Those European powers - France, Britain and Germany, known as the E3 - have initiated the so-called "snapback" process that is due to run until late this month. They have said they will only hold off on completing it if Iran allows inspections to resume, accounts for its highly enriched uranium stockpile and holds nuclear talks with the United States.
Tuesday's framework deal is aimed at moving towards addressing those first two conditions, but it is unclear whether enough can or will be achieved by this month's deadline to satisfy the Europeans and fend off snapback for the time being.
"Let me emphasize: in the event of any hostile action against Iran — including the reinstatement of cancelled U.N. Security Council resolutions — Iran will consider these practical steps null and void," Araqchi said in a statement, referring to sanctions resolutions.
While Iran's enrichment sites have been badly damaged or destroyed, it is less clear what has happened to the stockpile, which includes uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from the roughly 90% of weapons grade.
Iran had enough material enriched to that level before the attacks, if enriched further, for 10 nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick and data from a quarterly IAEA report sent to member states last week.
Soon after the U.S. and Israeli attacks, Iran's parliament passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA and stipulating that any inspections must be approved by Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
Grossi told Reuters in an interview last week that the talks were aimed at reconciling the new obligations that the new Iranian legislation placed on Tehran with Iran's long-standing obligations as a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty policed by the IAEA, which Grossi said remained unchanged.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly and Francois Murphy ; Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)
The IAEA is an international organization that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy and aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. It works with countries to ensure compliance with nuclear non-proliferation agreements.
Nuclear inspections are evaluations conducted by regulatory bodies like the IAEA to ensure that countries comply with nuclear non-proliferation treaties and agreements, monitoring nuclear facilities and materials.
Sanctions are restrictive measures imposed by countries or international organizations to influence a nation's behavior, often in response to violations of international laws or agreements.
Highly enriched uranium is uranium that has a higher concentration of the isotope U-235, typically over 20%. It can be used in nuclear reactors and weapons, making its control critical for non-proliferation.
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