Iran says nuclear material buried at bombed sites, rejects unrestricted IAEA access
Iran Press TV
Thursday, 11 September 2025 8:24 PM
Iran says its nuclear materials remain under rubble from recent attacks, stressing that any inspections by the UN must follow new rules and rejecting Western demands for unrestricted access amid ongoing diplomatic tensions.
"What relates to our nuclear materials is all under the debris caused by attacks on the bombed facilities," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on national television IRIB's "Special News Program" Thursday night.
"Whether these materials are accessible or not, and the status of some of them, is currently being evaluated by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran," he added.
Araghchi said that once this evaluation is complete, the report will be submitted to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which will decide on any subsequent actions considering Iran's security concerns.
He said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has accepted that the current conditions differ from the past and that Iran's cooperation with the agency "cannot be as before."
On Tuesday, Araghchi and IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi reached an agreement on practical modalities to resume inspection activities inside Iran after their three-hour meeting in Cairo.
The agreement follows months of suspended cooperation. Tehran had halted access for IAEA inspectors after a 12-day military assault on its nuclear facilities in June and July by Israel and the US.
Following the unprovoked aggression, the Iranian parliament passed a law banning the return of inspectors without guarantees for the protection of Iran's nuclear sites.
Araghchi said the IAEA had acknowledged the attacks on Iran's nuclear sites as unacceptable and recognized that cooperation must now follow a new framework consistent with Iran's parliamentary law and decisions by the Supreme National Security Council.
"The IAEA has accepted that there are new conditions and that cooperation cannot continue as previously. They have also agreed that the law passed by the parliament and the Supreme National Security Council's views must be respected."
He further elaborated that no inspections are currently authorized at the damaged sites to allow for environmental remediation, and future inspections will require further negotiations and approval from the Supreme National Security Council.
Araghchi also addressed discrepancies between his account and that of Grossi after signing the agreement in Cairo.
While Grossi said the agreement "contemplates access to all facilities and installations in Iran", Araghchi reiterated that no such access has yet been given and that future talks will determine the nature and timing of any cooperation.
"In every agreement, each side has its own narrative. Mr. Grossi must report to the Board of Governors in a manner that satisfies them. He states his version, which may differ from ours, but the text of the agreement is the same," the Iranian foreign minister said Thursday.
In Cairo, Araghchi had made it clear that "access is only permitted in the case of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, and only due to its fuel replacement process — a decision already approved by the Supreme National Security Council."
Araghchi reaffirmed that all decisions regarding cooperation, inspections, and information sharing with the IAEA are under the exclusive authority of the Supreme National Security Council, ensuring that past grievances of espionage and unilateral agency access will not recur.
This comes amid heightened tensions following sabotage attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, which Iran has blamed on Israel.
The attacks have complicated the already fragile relations between Tehran and Western powers over Iran's nuclear program and the future of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Araghchi said all diplomatic efforts are carried out in full coordination with relevant authorities and in line with defined mandates, adding that Tehran would not compromise on national security or be swayed by external pressure.
"We will never back down from defending the rights and security of the people," he said. "We are not influenced by propaganda, and we will act with strength and stability to protect the interests of the Iranian people."
Araghchi rejected conditions set by the European troika — France, Germany and the UK — for the extension of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, calling the terms "unrealistic" and incompatible with Iran's national interests.
"At one point, they proposed certain conditions under which, if fulfilled, the said mechanism would be extended and, as they put it, 'a new opportunity for diplomacy' would be created," he said. "But these conditions were never accepted by us. In fact, we do not recognize any such right for them. Their conditions were neither realistic nor reasonable, and they did not align with our national interests."
Resolution 2231, adopted in 2015, endorsed the JCPOA — the Iran nuclear deal — and laid out a timetable for lifting international sanctions in exchange for limitations on Iran's nuclear program. The so-called "snapback mechanism" allows for the reimposition of UN sanctions if Iran is found to be in significant non-compliance.
Araghchi said the dispute over the resolution is ongoing, and that Iran's delegation in New York is holding "intensive consultations" in coordination with Russia, China, and "some other Security Council members" to address the issue.
"We never gave any consideration to their conditions," he said.
The Iranian diplomat emphasized that Iran's cooperation with the IAEA is a completely separate matter and is not tied to the European conditions.
"Even before they proposed those conditions, we had already begun our consultations with the Agency," Araghchi said.
He added that despite attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, cooperation with the IAEA carries both strategic benefits and legal obligations for Iran.
"Although developments and attacks occurred and our nuclear facilities were bombed, cooperation with the Agency brings us benefits and also entails obligations," he said.
"As a committed member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, we are bound to observe international requirements as long as we remain in the agreement."
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