IAEA Inspectors Return to Iran After Suspension Following Zionist and US Strikes
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog confirmed that a team of its inspectors has returned to Iran, marking the first such entry since Zionist and US strikes targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran halted cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after a 12-day war with the Zionist entity in June, accusing the agency of failing to condemn the attacks. “Now the first team of IAEA inspectors is back in Iran, and we are about to restart,” Director General Rafael Grossi told Fox News, adding that talks are ongoing on how to practically resume inspections given that “some [facilities] were attacked, some were not.”
The development coincided with talks in Geneva between Iran and European powers Britain, France, and Germany, as Tehran seeks to prevent the threatened reimposition of sanctions under the faltering 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi urged the European trio to “make the right choice and give diplomacy time and space.”
The renewed dialogue follows the June aggression sparked by the Zionist entity’s surprise attack, which derailed nuclear talks with the US and strained Tehran’s relations with the IAEA.
The 2015 deal was severely undermined in 2018 when then-US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the accord and reimposed sanctions.
