VIENNA — Iran has imposed new restrictions on international inspections of its nuclear facilities, barring United Nations inspectors from accessing sites damaged in recent military strikes while limiting monitoring to a small number of civilian nuclear installations, according to Iranian officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said this week that inspectors from the IAEA would not be allowed to enter bombed nuclear sites under legislation approved by parliament and implemented through a decision of the Supreme National Security Council. He said inspectors would only retain access to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the Tehran Research Reactor, rejecting reports that broader inspections had been authorized.
The move marks the latest setback for efforts to restore comprehensive international monitoring of Iran's nuclear programme following an interim framework agreement reached between Tehran and Washington last month.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has maintained that inspections of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities remain part of the agreement and said agency officials are working with Iranian counterparts on arrangements for inspectors to return.
"We are working on the modalities," Grossi said last week, adding that inspections "are going to happen," although he did not provide a timetable.
Iranian officials, however, have repeatedly argued that access to damaged or sensitive facilities will remain suspended until broader political and technical issues are resolved. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has said inspections of bombed sites would not proceed before a comprehensive agreement is finalized and sanctions issues are addressed.
The IAEA has emphasized that restoring access is essential to verifying the status of Iran's nuclear materials, including its stockpile of uranium enriched to levels well above those typically used for civilian purposes.
Grossi said on July 3 that the agency's assessment indicated Iran's enriched uranium remained inside its nuclear facilities, but stressed that inspectors must be allowed to return to confirm the condition of the material and facilities independently. He said the agency had requested access but had not yet received authorization from Tehran.
The dispute over inspections has become one of the central issues in negotiations aimed at reducing tensions over Iran's nuclear activities. Western governments have long argued that robust IAEA verification is essential to any lasting agreement, while Iran maintains its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
No date has been announced for renewed inspections of the restricted sites, and both the IAEA and Iranian authorities say technical discussions over future monitoring arrangements remain ongoing.
