VIENNA: Iran’s new cooperation framework with the UN nuclear watchdog includes “all facilities and installations in Iran,” agency head Rafael Grossi said Wednesday.
Iran agreed a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday, after it suspended cooperation following the war with Israel in June.
The 12-day war saw Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which the IAEA has not been able to access since.
Grossi said the agreed document “provides for a clear understanding of the procedures for inspections.”
It “includes all facilities and installations in Iran, and it also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those,” Grossi told the Vienna-based agency’s Board of Governors meeting.
Tehran’s suspension of cooperation saw the agency’s inspectors leave Iran, before a team briefly returned last month to oversee the replacement of fuel at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Access to nuclear sites now requires the approval of the Supreme National Security Council, and the most recent inspection was not granted access to other key sites, including Fordo and Natanz, which were hit in the June strikes.
“Iran and the agency will now resume cooperation in a respectful and comprehensive way,” Grossi said, adding the “practical steps... need to be implemented now.”
“There may be difficulties and issues to be resolved for sure, but we now know what we have to do,” he added.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Iran would end cooperation with the agency “in the event of any hostile action against Iran.”
“I emphasize that in the event of any hostile action against Iran, including the reinstatement of lifted UN Security Council resolutions, Iran will consider these practical steps ended,” he said.
In August, Britain, France and Germany initiated steps to reimpose UN sanctions after weeks of warnings, citing Iran’s continued non-compliance with its commitments under a 2015 nuclear agreement.
Iran has condemned the move as “illegal” and warned that it could lead to the exclusion of the European powers from any future negotiations.
While Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Western countries accuse the government of seeking an atomic weapon — a claim Tehran has systematically denied.
UN nuclear watchdog says new deal with Iran covers ‘all facilities’
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UN nuclear watchdog says new deal with Iran covers ‘all facilities’
- Iran’s new cooperation framework with the UN nuclear watchdog includes “all facilities and installations in Iran,” agency head Rafael Grossi said Wednesday
Efforts to heal Syria’s ‘deep divisions’ arduous but ‘not insurmountable,’ UN chief says on anniversary of Assad’s fall
- Antonio Guterres hails ‘end of a decades-old system of repression,’ Syrians’ ‘resilience and courage’— Transition offers opportunity to ‘forge a nation where every Syrian can live securely, equally, and with dignity’
NEW YORK: Efforts to heal Syria’s “deep divisions” will be long and arduous but the challenges ahead are “not insurmountable,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday as he marked the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime.
A surprise offensive by a coalition of rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied militias rapidly swept through regime-held areas in late November 2024. Within days, they seized key cities and ultimately captured the capital Damascus.
On Dec. 8 last year, as regime defenses collapsed almost overnight, then-President Bashar Assad fled the Syrian Arab Republic, ending more than 50 years of brutal rule by his family.
“Today marks one year since the fall of the Assad government and the end of a decades-old system of repression,” Guterres said, praising the “resilience and courage” of Syrians “who never stopped nurturing hope despite enduring unimaginable hardship.”
He added that the anniversary was both a moment of reflection on the sacrifices made in pursuit of “historic change,” and a reminder of the difficult path ahead for the country.
“What lies ahead is far more than a political transition; it is the chance to rebuild shattered communities and heal deep divisions,” he said, adding that the transition offers an opportunity to “forge a nation where every Syrian — regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or political affiliation — can live securely, equally, and with dignity.”
Guterres stressed that the UN will continue supporting Syrians as they shape new political and civic institutions.
“The challenges are significant, but not insurmountable,” he said. “The past year has shown that meaningful change is possible when Syrians are empowered and supported in driving their own transition.”
He added that communities across the country are building new governance structures, and that “Syrian women continue to lead the charge for their rights, justice, and equality.”
Though humanitarian needs remain “immense,” he pointed to progress in restoring services, widening aid access, and creating conditions for the return of refugees and displaced people.
Transitional justice efforts are under way, he added, alongside broader civic engagement. Guterres urged governments to stand firmly behind a “Syrian-led, Syrian-owned transition,” saying support must include respect for sovereignty, removal of barriers to reconstruction, and robust funding for humanitarian and economic recovery.
“On this anniversary, we stand united in purpose — to build a foundation of peace and prosperity and renew our pledge to a free, sovereign, united, and inclusive Syria,” he added.
