Araghchi: We Will Not Engage with the IAEA on Bombed Nuclear Facilities / I Consider “Zero Enrichment” an Act of Treason

According to Khabar Online, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Iran would “absolutely not accept zero enrichment,” stressing that uranium enrichment has become “a matter of national honor and pride.” He added that Iran has paid “significant material and moral costs” for this capability, including “numerous nuclear martyrs,” and therefore considers any agreement requiring enrichment to be reduced to zero “an act of treason” that Iran will not accept.

Araghchi emphasized that in Iran’s engagement with the IAEA, “we will not deal with the bombed nuclear facilities.” Cooperation, he said, will take place strictly within the framework of IAEA regulations and only regarding facilities that were not targeted in the attacks. As an example, he noted that IAEA inspectors recently visited Iran for technical work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant and that Iran cooperated with them.

It is worth noting that Rafael Grossi, the IAEA Director General, was asked at his press conference today in Vienna about a draft resolution submitted by European countries. The resolution seeks to establish a new agenda for the Agency’s oversight in Iran—particularly requiring Iran to clarify the location of its uranium stocks after the attacks carried out by the United States and Israel. He was also asked how the Agency plans to conduct verification activities related to Iran’s uranium holdings given Iran’s position that Grossi’s “biased reports” have enabled U.S. and Israeli aggression against facilities under Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.

Grossi responded: “We will have to see what is approved in the end. This text (the Iran–IAEA agreement reached in Cairo) contains multiple references to various resolutions. We will examine the matter.”

The Director General added: “Iran must, in principle, declare its facilities. We know what has happened to the targeted facilities. Therefore, we are aware of everything that has been declared, and we are supposed to report on it. After that, we will see what happens.”

In response to another question—whether the Agency can carry out verification and monitoring of the location of Iran’s enriched uranium in a way that does not escalate tensions—Grossi said: “I don’t think this necessarily involves geographical coordinates or things of that kind. This is something we need to analyze and assess. But the other issue—the evaluation of the work we do—is entirely political. Some in Iran have claimed that we pass on information (about Iran’s nuclear program) to third parties, which is absolutely false. So perhaps they do not need a new resolution to make such claims. This type of critical assessment always occurs.” Grossi stressed: “We are quite confident that we will be able to present a solid report on this matter.”