Iran has announced the suspension of its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following the reimposition of United Nations (UN) sanctions.<\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the state portal PressTV on October 11 that relations were not completely severed but were suspended.<\/p>\n
Araghchi stated that this decision was a response to the reimposition of sanctions against Tehran, an initiative led by European countries.<\/p>\n
Russia and China do not recognize the reimposition of sanctions.<\/p>\n
The agreement signed in Cairo on September 9, mediated by Egypt, regulated the “practical conditions” for IAEA inspections under Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.<\/p>\n
The agreement included access for agency inspectors to nuclear facilities in Iran, including those damaged in the conflict with Israel and the US in June 2025.<\/p>\n
\u2018Relations not completely severed\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Abbas Araghchi noted that all future contacts with the IAEA would require the approval of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.<\/p>\n Emphasizing that Tehran has not completely severed ties with the agency, Araghchi said, “The Cairo agreement has been temporarily suspended. A return to this agreement is possible if fair proposals are presented that secure the rights of the Iranian nation and if the agency’s role in the resolution process is determined.”<\/p>\n What the experts say<\/strong><\/p>\n Stanislav Lazovskiy, a researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, expressed the view that Tehran’s suspension of contacts with the IAEA does not pose a serious risk to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which was built with Russian participation.<\/p>\n Lazovskiy said that Iran needs this plant due to its electricity deficit and that the greatest danger is a renewed flare-up of the Iran-Israel conflict. The expert stated that the plant could be targeted in such a scenario.<\/p>\n Yuri Lyamin, a senior researcher at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, stated that relations between Iran and the IAEA are in a “gray area.”<\/p>\n Lyamin said, “On the one hand, relations are almost frozen, but on the other hand, Iran has still not withdrawn from the\u00a0Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”<\/p>\n Lyamin recalled that under these conditions, limited cooperation with the agency could continue through the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, noting that Iran allowed IAEA inspectors to monitor the fuel change in the plant’s first operational power unit at the end of August and early September.<\/p>\n Lyamin added that future contacts between Tehran and the agency would depend on negotiations.<\/p>\n A nuclear power plant is being built with Russian support in the city of Bushehr on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast.<\/p>\n Construction of the facility, the country’s first nuclear power plant, began in 1975 with Germany’s contribution and continued with an agreement signed with Russia in the 1990s.<\/p>\n The plant’s first power unit was commissioned in 2013, while the construction of the second unit is ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Iran has announced the suspension of its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following the reimposition of United Nations (UN) sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the state portal PressTV on October 11 that relations were not completely severed but were suspended. Araghchi stated that this decision was a response to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[4035,13638,13639,529,574,288,13637,6096,683,919,10739,13490],"class_list":["post-11769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy","tag-abbas-araghchi","tag-bushehr-nuclear-power-plant","tag-cairo-agreement","tag-china","tag-iaea","tag-iran","tag-nuclear-inspections","tag-nuclear-program","tag-russia","tag-tehran","tag-treaty-on-the-non-proliferation-of-nuclear-weapons","tag-un-sanctions"],"yoast_head":"\n