An Iranian official said on Wednesday that a technical delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Iran within two to three weeks, reports said. AFP reported the official as saying that the group will not have access to the country's nuclear sites.
AFP quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi telling reporters, "We have agreed actually to accept a delegation of the IAEA, a technical delegation, to pay a visit to Iran very soon, in two to three weeks."
This comes after Israeli and US' strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June.
Tehran will not abandon nuclear enrichment
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that the country has no plans to abandon its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment, despite "severe" damage to its facilities after US strikes last month.
For now, enrichment "is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe," Araghchi told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier."
"But obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists," he continued, calling it a source of "national pride."
He stressed that any future nuclear deal would have to contain the right to enrichment.
When asked whether any enriched uranium had been saved from the strikes, Araghchi said he had "no detailed information," but that Iran's Atomic Energy Organization is "trying to evaluate what has exactly happened to our nuclear material, to our enriched material."
Washington bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 22 to support Israel's 12-day military offensive, including the Fordow underground uranium enrichment site located south of Tehran.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the strikes a success that "completely destroyed" the sites, lashing out at media reports citing intelligence findings of more conservative assessments.
Araghchi, while saying there was no military solution to the dispute over Iran's program, told Fox News that "yes, facilities have been destroyed. They are severely destroyed."
"But the technology is there, our nuclear program, our enrichment program, is not something imported from outside that can be destroyed by bombings," he said.
Trump welcomed Araghchi's comments in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
"Just like I said, and we will do it again, if necessary!" posted the US president.
Araghchi's remarks come as Tehran is set to hold new talks on its nuclear program with Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Friday in Istanbul.
Regarding negotiations with the United States to de-escalate regional tension, Araghchi said "we are open to talks" but "not direct for the time being."
"We are ready to do any confidence-building measure needed to prove that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful" in exchange for lifted US sanctions, he added.
The foreign minister also confirmed that Iran would continue to develop and manufacture missiles.
Despite multiple barrages of missiles launched at Israel and waves of Israeli attacks on its bases and launchers, Araghchi said "we still have a good number of missiles to defend ourselves."
Baier also asked about the health of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has rarely been seen since the start of Israel's attack.
"I met him today, he is in a very good shape and in a very good health," Araghchi said.
(With AFP inputs)
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