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Iran's nuclear program

Iran to continue technical consultations with IAEA, senior diplomat says

Kazem Gharibabadi pointed out that the Tehran meeting, which involved IAEA Deputy Secretary General Massimo Aparo, addressed options for interaction between Iran and the agency in the current situation

DUBAI, August 12. /TASS/. Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have reached an agreement to continue consultations on Tehran’s nuclear program, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said.

"Taking into account the recent meeting of Iranian and IAEA officials, we agreed to continue consultations," the Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

Gharibabadi pointed out that the Tehran meeting, which involved IAEA Deputy Secretary General Massimo Aparo, addressed options for interaction between Iran and the agency in the current situation. "We strongly protested against the IAEA’s failure to fulfill its obligations during the attack on Iran by the Zionist regime (Israel - TASS) and the US, and demanded changes to the agency’s misguided approach to issues related to the Iranian nuclear program," the senior diplomat added.

The fact that the IAEA did not condemn Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities caused a flurry of criticism from Tehran, which blamed the IAEA leadership for politicizing the agency’s activities. On July 2, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on July 22 that Iran did not rule out that the agency’s inspectors might return to the country in the future.

Overnight into June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, Tehran retaliated. Nine days later, in the early hours of June 22, US jets targeted three Iranian nuclear sites, effectively entering the conflict. The following evening, Tehran carried out a missile strike on Al Udeid, the largest US military base in the region, located in Qatar. According to US officials, there were no casualties or significant damage. US President Donald Trump later announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. The truce took effect on June 24.

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Iran's nuclear program issue

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