IAEA official to visit Iran, no nuclear sites inspection planned, media say

(Reuters) - An official from the International Atomic Energy Agency will fly to Iran for talks on Monday but no visit to nuclear sites is planned, state media quoted Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as saying on Sunday.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister said Wednesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must clarify how it would go about inspecting nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the United States in June.

“If the agency wants to visit our sites, they’ve been bombed. Tell us—how do you expect to inspect a bombed nuclear facility? Is there a rule, a protocol, a guideline for that?” Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with state TV.

Araghchi criticized the UN nuclear watchdog for failing to condemn what he described as “illegal and savage” attacks on the country’s nuclear sites under its supervision. “This is the biggest violation of international law—truly unforgivable,” he said.

IAEA inspectors left the country following the 12-day conflict and whether Iran allows them to resume their work remains a focus of diplomacy between Iran and the West.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly maintained that US airstrikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program but Iran's insistence it will not to renounce enrichment leaves the long-running impasse unresolved.