Iran and U.N. Watchdog Reach Agreement to Resume Nuclear Inspections

Iran has not allowed inspections since its nuclear sites were bombed by Israel and the United States in June, but it hopes to stave off Western economic sanctions.

By Erika Solomon Sanam Mahoozi and Farnaz Fassihi

Iran on Tuesday reached an agreement with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog group to resume international inspections of its nuclear sites, three months after Tehran suspended such cooperation in the wake of its 12-day war with Israel.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement that after a meeting on Tuesday in Cairo with Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, the pair had agreed “on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran.”

“This,” Mr. Grossi added, “is an important step in the right direction.”

Iran had not permitted I.A.E.A. inspectors to visit its nuclear sites since June, when Israel and the United States bombed facilities where scientists were enriching uranium, which could be used to develop an atomic weapons.

I.A.E.A. inspectors have been unable to verify Iran’s near bomb-grade stockpile since the start of the war.

Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said in a statement released by Iranian state media that Tuesday’s agreement was reached in light of the “new situation following the United States illegal attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities.”

Mr. Araghchi, the foreign minister, added that any agreement with the I.A.E.A would be voided should Iran again come under attack.

“In the event of any hostile action against Iran, including the reinstatement of annulled U.N. Security Council resolutions, Iran will consider its cooperation with the agency to have come to an end,” Mr. Araghchi said.

The meeting in Cairo, facilitated by the Egyptian government, came just weeks after Iran and the I.A.E.A. had resumed talks and just days after France, Germany and Britain began the process to reimpose punishing sanctions on Iran.

Allowing access to I.A.E.A. inspectors could help Iran avert or postpone those sanctions, which could deal a heavy blow to a country whose economy is already foundering.

The lack of international inspections had unnerved regional security experts, who warned that Iran might seek to secretly build atomic bombs. It is not clear how badly Iran’s nuclear program was damaged by the U.S. and Israeli attacks.

Late last month, Britain, Germany and France notified the United Nations that Iran was in breach of its obligations under the landmark 2015 deal that it had signed with global powers, which restricted Iran’s uranium enrichment. The agreement, which is valid until Oct. 18, 2025, allows sanctions to be lifted, with the option to reimpose them via a so-called snapback mechanism.

President Trump withdrew from the deal and reimposed U.S. sanctions in 2018, during his first term. That move, Tehran argues, meant Iran was no longer bound by the agreement, and eliminated the European signatories’ right to impose snapback provisions. But the Europeans contend that the deal has remained in effect.

The European states’ notification does not mean an immediate restart of sanctions. It begins a 30-day period of consultation, in which Iranian and European diplomats are likely to intensify negotiations to avoid that outcome.

In early June, just a day before Israel launched its first strikes, the I.A.E.A. declared that Iran was not complying with its obligations under an older international pact, the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The agency said that while it had no evidence Iran was building a weapon, it was stockpiling around 882 pounds of highly enriched uranium. That amount, should it be processed to weapons grade, would be enough to build 10 atomic bombs.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, suspended its cooperation with the I.A.E.A. after the war, arguing that the agency’s declaration had provided a pretext for Israel and the United States to bomb.

Iranian officials had been negotiating with Washington up until Israel began its strikes in June. Nine days into that campaign, U.S. warplanes dropped 30,000-pound bombs, designed to penetrate to targets deep underground, on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Last month, Mr. Grossi told reporters that Iran would have no obligation to dig out any site for inspectors to gain access. But he said the I.A.E.A. has equipment that can detect nuclear material even without full access.

Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization. She also covers Iran and has written about conflict in the Middle East for 15 years.