Tehran: Inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be contingent on reaching a cooperative agreement between the Agency and the Iranian government. This was stated by Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), during an interview on Wednesday. Kamalvandi addressed inquiries about the conditions under which IAEA inspectors might be present in the country and the broader cooperation details between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Kamalvandi emphasized that as part of the plan for the Bushehr nuclear power plant’s operation, including ensuring the timely supply of electricity to the national grid, it has been decided that IAEA inspectors will oversee the plant’s fuel replacement. He further stated that any inspections would proceed only after an agreement on the framework of cooperation is reached with the IAEA and approved by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), in line with recent parliamentary legislation.

The return of IAEA inspectors to Iran, following two rounds of talks in Tehran and Vienna, has been sanctioned by the SNSC, specifically to monitor technical operations at the Bushehr plant. In related developments, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, following his meeting with the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, noted the necessity of IAEA inspectors’ presence once the decision to replace fuel at the Bushehr plant was confirmed.

Araghchi also made it clear that no formal text regarding cooperation with the IAEA had been finalized or approved, underscoring that any such cooperation would be subject to the Supreme National Security Council’s decisions.