Iran enters new nuclear pact with UN for site inspection 3 months after Israel-US strike

Iranian and United Nations negotiators confirmed that they had reached an agreement to resume international inspections of nuclear facilities inside Iran. According to The New York Times, on Tuesday, the deal, announced by Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), came after a meeting in Cairo with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. Grossi was quoted as saying the two sides had agreed “on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran,” calling the outcome an important step toward restoring oversight of the country’s atomic programme.

The arrangement was facilitated by Egyptian mediation and follows weeks of technical discussions in both Tehran and Vienna. UN News reported that the agreement outlines clear procedures for inspection and notification, while also addressing the status of facilities that were struck by Israel and the United States in June.

Suspension after the war With Israel

Tehran had halted cooperation with the IAEA three months earlier, during and after its 12-day war with Israel. The pause coincided with US-backed Israeli strikes on several of Iran’s nuclear sites, including the Natanz enrichment facility. Iranian officials argued at the time that the air raids, which involved heavy bunker-busting bombs, were justified by international claims that Iran was in breach of nonproliferation obligations.

Since then, inspectors had been barred from all Iranian nuclear installations, creating uncertainty over the status of the country’s uranium enrichment programme. Security analysts raised alarms during the suspension, warning that the absence of monitoring increased the risk that Iran could accelerate its production of near weapons-grade uranium without detection.

A bid to ease sanctions pressure

Tehran’s decision to restore access for inspectors appeared linked to Western threats of renewed sanctions. Just days before the Cairo meeting, Britain, France and Germany announced their intention to activate the so-called “snapback” mechanism in the 2015 nuclear accord, which allows for the reimposition of punitive measures if Iran is found to be in violation.

Iranian officials, including foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, suggested the deal was necessary in light of the “new situation” created by the US and Israeli attacks. Araghchi emphasised that while Tehran was willing to cooperate, it would consider the agreement void if Iran’s facilities came under attack again or if cancelled UN Security Council resolutions were reinstated.

Western diplomats told The New York Times that Iran may be attempting to stave off economic collapse. Years of sanctions have battered the country’s economy, and additional penalties would worsen inflation and unemployment. Allowing inspectors back, they suggested, might help delay or soften the looming European sanctions process.

Broader nuclear context

The current standoff takes place against the backdrop of the still-active 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. That accord restricted Iran’s uranium enrichment levels in exchange for sanctions relief. Although the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under President Donald Trump, European powers insist that its provisions remain valid.

Iran, by contrast, has argued that Washington’s exit nullified the pact and stripped European signatories of the authority to invoke snapback measures. Nonetheless, the European states recently notified the United Nations that Iran was breaching the deal’s enrichment limits. That notification started a 30-day consultation period, after which sanctions could be restored if no compromise is reached.

Meanwhile, the IAEA has voiced concern about Iran’s growing uranium stockpile. In June, shortly before the Israeli strikes, the agency estimated that Tehran had amassed more than 880 pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough—if further processed—to produce multiple nuclear weapons. Although the agency stressed it had no evidence of an active weapons programme, the finding intensified fears that Iran was edging closer to breakout capability.

Concerns over regional stability

Security experts in West Asia have warned that uncertainty over Iran’s nuclear intentions could destabilise the region further. The lack of inspections since June had heightened speculation about clandestine activities, even as Tehran insisted its programme remained peaceful. Analysts noted that Israel has long viewed a nuclear-capable Iran as an existential threat, which partly explains the intensity of its June campaign.

Iranian leaders, in turn, have accused the IAEA of being complicit in enabling the strikes. They claimed that the agency’s public disclosures about enrichment levels offered justification for the raids. That narrative has fuelled domestic scepticism about resuming cooperation, with some lawmakers pushing legislation over the summer to permanently restrict foreign access to sensitive sites.

What lies ahead

For now, the Cairo agreement appears to provide a fragile pathway back to limited transparency. Grossi, speaking to the IAEA’s board of governors in Vienna, described the understanding as a “practical step forward” but acknowledged that implementation would not be without difficulties. He said inspectors were prepared to deploy advanced equipment to verify nuclear material, even if some sites remained partially inaccessible.

Iranian officials have maintained that their willingness to continue within the framework of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty demonstrates their commitment to global norms. Yet they also reiterated that their cooperation depended on the absence of further military or economic coercion.

Whether the deal will be enough to avert a new sanctions crisis remains uncertain. European capitals have not yet rescinded their threat to trigger the snapback mechanism. Instead, diplomats suggested the next month would be crucial for determining if Iran’s renewed cooperation is sufficient to restore trust.

In the meantime, regional observers are watching closely. The resumption of inspections may reassure some governments, but it is unlikely to settle deeper disputes over enrichment levels, security guarantees, and the legacy of the 2015 accord. As one European official told The New York Times, the agreement reached this week may be “a step in the right direction,” but it is far from a resolution to the long-running nuclear standoff.

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