DUBAI/VIENNA: Iran and the IAEA announced on Tuesday that they had reached an agreement to resume inspections at sites, including those bombed by the U.S. and Israel, but they did not provide details. Tehran warned the West that the deal would be canceled if sanctions were reimposed.
The agreement, made between International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a meeting in Cairo, should essentially pave the way for a complete resumption of inspections that were halted by military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June.
Diplomats warned, however, that the devil was in the details, and neither Grossi nor Araqchi provided any at a joint press conference on their agreement, which covers 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."
Threat of 'snapback' by E3
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. Still, 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.
Any sanctions to void agreement
"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.
Talks aim to reconcile Iran's commitment to NPT
Soon after the U.S. and Israeli attacks, Iran's parliament passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA and stipulating that Iran's Supreme National Security Council must approve any inspections.
Grossi told Reuters in an interview last week that the talks aimed to reconcile the obligations imposed by the new Iranian legislation with Iran's long-standing commitments as a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty monitored by the IAEA, which Grossi said remained unchanged.