Tehran warns any hostile action will end nuclear agency accord

Shafaq News – Tehran

Any hostile move against Iran would terminate its agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said on Tuesday during his weekly briefing.

Nuclear File And Recent Negotiations

Baqaei underlined that the IAEA arrangement had the approval of Director General Rafael Grossi and was not a unilateral initiative, urging European countries to adopt “a balanced and independent stance, free from US and Israeli pressure.”

On September 9, a protocol was signed in Cairo between Iran and the IAEA to resume inspections of nuclear facilities damaged in the June conflict. Under that deal, inspectors’ access is conditional on approval from Iran’s parliament and the Supreme National Security Council. Iran has warned that European “hostile actions,” including triggering the snapback mechanism on 28 August to restore UN sanctions, could prompt Tehran to suspend cooperation.

US Activist Assassination

Addressing the killing of American right-wing politician Charles James Kirk, Baqaei said Iran condemns terrorism “regardless of motive,” stressing that the Islamic Republic “does not consider assassination a legitimate tool, in contrast to the United States and its allies.”

Iranian Detention In France

The spokesperson also called for the release of Mahdieh Esfandiari, detained in France for nine months over social media posts supportive of Gaza, describing her detention as “arbitrary” and “a political abduction.”

Tehran and Paris are currently exploring a prisoner exchange that could involve Esfandiari and French nationals held in Iran.

No Official Mediation With The US

Baqaei denied reports of an official mediator between Tehran and Washington, while acknowledging regional initiatives for indirect communication.