Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Thursday that the Cairo Agreement governing cooperation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has officially come to an end, following the passage of an anti-Iran resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors.

The resolution, drafted jointly by the United States and three European countries, was approved on Wednesday despite repeated warnings from Tehran. In a post published on X, Araghchi condemned the move as “illegal and unjustified,” accusing Western governments of undermining the Agency’s neutrality and damaging Iran-IAEA cooperation.

Araghchi said the actions of the Western states “invalidate the Agency and its independence,” adding that they disrupt the framework of engagement that had existed between Iran and the IAEA.

“By taking this action and ignoring Iran’s interactions and goodwill, these countries are invalidating the Agency and its independence and disrupting the process of interactions and cooperation between the Agency and Iran,” he wrote.

He confirmed that Tehran had formally notified IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi that the Cairo Agreement is no longer valid and is now considered terminated.

The tensions come a day after Grossi announced that IAEA inspectors had recently returned to Iran, carrying out monitoring activities at facilities unaffected by the June attacks. Iran has also maintained that inspections at non-bombed nuclear sites had continued, despite the deteriorating diplomatic atmosphere.

However, Araghchi argued that the Cairo framework had already been weakened long before the latest resolution. He said that after three European states triggered the process to reinstate cancelled UN Security Council resolutions against Iran, the agreement “was no longer a basis” for safeguards cooperation.

The Cairo Agreement, struck to stabilize Iran-IAEA relations and ensure technical cooperation, had served as a practical mechanism for addressing safeguards issues. Its termination adds a new layer of uncertainty to the already strained relationship between Tehran and the agency.

Iran’s announcement raises concerns over how monitoring, transparency, and verification activities will proceed amid increasing confrontation on the diplomatic front. The move is likely to deepen mistrust and further complicate efforts to resolve disputes surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme. (ILKHA)