Inspectors have been unable to access Iranian nuclear sites since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June.
By JNS
Talks between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are ongoing and “will continue in the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told Iranian state media on Monday.
IAEA deputy director general Massimo Aparo visited Tehran last week to begin talks on how the U.N. agency and the Islamic Republic will interact following Israel’s attack on its nuclear and ballistic missile facilities in June, semi-official Iranian outlet Mehr News Agency reported.
“The talks began last week, and another round of negotiations between Iran and the IAEA is likely to take place in the coming days,” he said.
“We never stopped talks with them,” said Baqaei, according to another semi-official news site, Tasnim News Agency. “But they must clarify whether they intend to play a constructive role or a negative one that serves the Zionist regime.”
Referring to an Aug. 13 joint letter sent by the United Kingdom, France and Germany to the U.N. secretary-general stating that they were ready to reimpose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities, Baqaei said the three European powers are only pursuing a “destructive role” and acting according to “Zionist interests,” Tasnim reported.
Inspectors have been unable to access Iranian nuclear sites since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, which included a U.S. bombing raid on Iran’s most protected site at Fordow, Reuters reported on Monday.
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said on June 25 that his “No. 1 priority” is for inspectors to return to Iran’s nuclear sites to evaluate damage from the recent bombing and verify stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, according to the U.N. website.
On June 12, for the first time in nearly two decades, the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors declared Iran in violation of its non-proliferation commitments.
In late June, Iran passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA, claiming that the agency’s board of governors resolution “encouraged the Israeli regime to launch a war of aggression on Iran and prompted the U.S. to bomb three main nuclear sites of Iran,” Tasnim reported.
Over a period of 12 days, starting on July 13, the Israeli Air Force bombed numerous nuclear and missile production sites across Iran, quickly achieving aerial dominance over the country.
In response, the Islamic Republic, Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at Israel, killing 31 (30 civilians, including four children and one soldier).
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