TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi in Cairo on Tuesday.
This meeting marks the first direct engagement between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog since Iran suspended cooperation two months ago.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency confirmed the meeting would focus on concluding negotiations for a new protocol governing Iran-IAEA interaction.
Egypt’s foreign ministry verified the trilateral meeting involving Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty alongside Araghchi and Grossi.
The diplomatic encounter follows Iran’s suspension of IAEA cooperation after June’s 12-day war with Israel that included strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Tehran has criticised the agency for failing to condemn Israeli and American attacks on its nuclear installations.
Iran has declared that future cooperation with the IAEA would require “a new form” of engagement following these developments.
IAEA inspectors briefly returned to Iran last month solely to oversee fuel replacement at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
The inspection team received no access to other critical sites including Fordo and Natanz, both targeted during recent conflicts.
Iran faces increasing pressure to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal as Britain, France and Germany initiate sanctions reimposition procedures.
European powers have warned for weeks about potentially triggering the nuclear agreement’s “snapback” mechanism due to Iranian non-compliance.
Tehran has condemned the European move as “illegal” and warned it would further damage cooperation with the IAEA.
Western nations and Israel consistently accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons development despite Tehran’s peaceful program claims.
Iran maintains that its nuclear activities serve exclusively peaceful purposes and denies all weapons development allegations. – AFP
