Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi has confirmed that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have entered Iran with the consent of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council(SNSC).
He announced that the IAEA inspectors returned to Iran to oversee the refueling process at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
The Iranian Foreign Minister further explained that the presence of IAEA inspectors was necessary once the decision to replace fuel at the Bushehr plant had been made.
He noted that “the changing of the fuel of Bushehr nuclear reactor has to be done under the supervision of inspectors of the international agency.”
Iran suspended cooperation with the agency following a 12-day war with Israel in June, with Tehran pointing to the IAEA’s failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities. Bushehr was not targeted in the attacks.
IAEA Chief, Rafael Grossi confirmed on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, that a team of inspectors was “back in Iran.” “When it comes to Iran, as you know, there are many facilities. Some were attacked, some were not,” Grossi told a news agency in an interview aired on Tuesday.
“So we are discussing what kind of … practical modalities can be implemented in order to facilitate the restart of our work there.”
Rafael Grossi
The announcement comes after Iran held talks with the United Kingdom, France and Germany in Geneva on Tuesday, with Tehran seeking to avert the so-called snapback sanctions European powers have threatened to reimpose under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei warned Europe’s top three powers that reimposing sanctions on the country will have consequences.
The UK, France and Germany – parties to the 2015 deal – have threatened to trigger the accord’s “snapback mechanism” by the end of August.
Both sides will continue nuclear talks in the coming days.
Tuesday’s meeting was the second round of talks with European diplomats since the end of the June war, which began with an unprecedented Israeli surprise attack targeting senior military officials and nuclear facilities.
The conflict derailed Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the United States.
Israel says it launched the attacks to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – an ambition Tehran has repeatedly denied, insisting its programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.
Under the JCPOA, Iran committed to regu regular inspections of its nuclear energy programme in return for relief on some Western sanctions.
The nuclear deal was torpedoed in 2018 when Donald Trump, during his first term as President, unilaterally withdrew the US and slapped harsh sanctions on Iran.
Iran Says Return Of IAEA Inspectors Not Resumption Of Full Cooperation
Moreover, Araghchi noted that the return of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not mark the resumption of full cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
“Any kind of cooperation [with IAEA] will be within the framework of the law of the parliament, which will serve the interests of the Iranian nation.”
Abbas Araghchi
He emphasized that no final agreement has been reached on a new framework for cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. “Views are being exchanged,” Abbas Araghchi said, in comments cited by the state broadcaster.
“Under the law enacted by Parliament, cooperation with the IAEA is subject to the decision of the Supreme National Security Council. Therefore, all requests from the Agency are submitted to the SNSC.”
Abbas Araghchi
The Iranian Foreign Minister also noted that the return of the inspectors would not be in violation of a piece of legislation approved by the Iranian parliament after the US attack on the three major nuclear facilities in June.
The piece of legislation called for suspending cooperation with the Agency after Tehran accused its Director General ‘s reports for the aggression on the Iranian sites due to his false reports on the peaceful program.
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