TEHERAN - Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could return to Iran with approval from the country's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

Araghchi's remarks, made in an interview with Iran's official news agency IRNA, came amid suspended cooperation between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog following Iran's parliamentary legislation in late June.

Iran cannot completely stop cooperation with the IAEA, Araghchi said, noting that upcoming fuel replacement at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant will require IAEA inspectors' presence.

Any IAEA inspection requests for nuclear facilities not recently attacked by Israel and the United States will be submitted to the SNSC for conditional approval, he said.

Araghchi affirmed Iran's intention to remain in the Non-Proliferation Treaty while reserving the right to withdraw if necessary. He also suggested Iran might send diplomats to Vienna for another round of talks with the IAEA following the Aug 11 negotiations in Teheran.

Regarding threats by France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, to trigger the snapback mechanism, Araghchi said the E3 have forfeited this right by withdrawing in practice from the 2015 nuclear deal.

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Iran and the E3 have not yet agreed on a basis for resuming their negotiations, but might hold a meeting on the issue in the coming days, he said, adding that time remains unripe for effective negotiations between Iran and the United States.

On June 13, two days prior to the sixth round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, Israel launched major airstrikes on several areas in Iran. Iran responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel. On June 22, US forces bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities. In retaliation, Iran struck the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Following a 12-day war, a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was achieved on June 24.

In late June, Iran's parliament suspended cooperation with the IAEA, accusing Israel and the United States of carrying out the strikes earlier that month.

In recent days, Washington has repeatedly demanded that Iran completely cease uranium enrichment, a request firmly rejected by Teheran.

Meanwhile, Iran and the E3 have held several rounds of talks covering Teheran's nuclear program and the removal of sanctions, among other issues, since September 2024.

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The E3 have, over the past months, been threatening Iran with triggering the snapback mechanism, a clause in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers, that will allow the other parties to reimpose all international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the agreement.