Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told lawmakers in a three-hour closed-door session that the new cooperation deal with the UN nuclear watchdog cannot be published due to diplomatic norms, the Farhikhtegan daily reported Monday, after some MPs demanded its release.
“I read the text of the agreement with the Agency. The text does not state that ‘implementation of this agreement is conditional on no hostile action against Iran, including snapback,’ whereas Araghchi said that in an interview," Hamid Rasaee said.
The hardline cleric said lawmakers attending a Saturday briefing with Araghchi believed this key condition was included in the text, but it was not.
"So the agreement does not prevent the implementation of the snapback mechanism. It was the same in the JCPOA, where the text did not match the claims,” Rasaee wrote on X.
Iranian lawmakers, including the cleric, convened an emergency meeting with Araghchi on Saturday to review the government’s new cooperation agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), signed in Cairo last week.
Neither Araghchi nor Grossi provided any details after signing the agreement.
Rasaee said parliament had not been given access to the text, criticizing Araghchi for keeping it confidential.
"Mr. Araghchi has said that it was agreed with the agency that the text of the agreement must be kept confidential and publishing it would be against diplomatic norms," he said in a video message posted on X Sunday.
According to Rasaee, only parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and the head of the national security and foreign policy committee had received copies of the agreement on Saturday night.
Alleged details
Rasaee said the text of the deal that he reviewed explicitly condemns attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and also establishes that future inspections will be conducted under a new procedure.
The agreement specifies that the UN nuclear watchdog must carry out its inspections in line with the law passed by Iran’s parliament, he said.
Under the terms, he claimed, inspections of sites that have not been targeted in attacks will only be made upon specific requests.
"Such requests will be reviewed by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which will decide whether to grant authorization."
For facilities that have been attacked, the arrangement sets out a more restrictive process, according to Rasaee. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran must first perform environmental and related assessments and submit a report.
"That report will be passed to the IAEA only if it is approved by the Supreme National Security Council. Even after that stage, each step of the inspection process requires further approval from the Council. The IAEA will not be permitted to conduct inspections without these clearances."
"The question is: why should the text remain confidential?! If it is a good text, if all our conditions are met in it, why keep it secret?" he said.
Shortly after Rasaee's criticism, Iran's Supreme National Security Council confirmed it had approved the cooperation protocol, with its secretariat saying the agreement reached between Araghchi and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi had been approved by the council.
The body led by Ali Larijani also said that Tehran will submit reports to the Agency only after the Council’s review.
“Unfortunately some at home prescribe fake remedies. They say: ‘do not chant death to America, stop enrichment, halt missiles, and the problem will be solved," said Mehdi Fazaeli.
"These prescriptions, especially at this time and after past experiences, are not only very simplistic but even foolish,” he added in an interview with the Gurads-linked Fars News Agency on Saturday night.
His remarks came after a coalition of 27 reformist organizations urged the Islamic Republic to signal readiness to suspend enrichment and allow full International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring in exchange for lifting sanctions.
In their words, “Iran’s social fabric was deeply wounded, with public life overshadowed by despair and anxiety.” The group said such a step could lead to “comprehensive, direct negotiations with the United States and normalization of relations.”
Khamenei ruled out direct talks with Washington in late August. “Those who say, ‘Don’t chant slogans against America, they’ll get upset and become hostile toward you,’ are superficial. Those who argue, ‘Why don’t you negotiate directly with the United States and solve your problems?’ are, in my view, also superficial. That’s not the reality of the matter; this issue cannot be resolved,” he said at the time.
'No pressure on Khamenei'
Fazaeli dismissed remarks that decisions had been forced on Khamenei, saying those who describe the leadership as passive or subject to misleading reports were either ignorant or acting with ulterior motives.
“At present, the leadership itself is the most important element and pillar of the country’s power,” he added, describing Khamenei’s approach as “revolutionary rationality, a balance of realism and ideals.”
The remarks followed weeks of conservative criticism of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s moderate government, accusing it of showing weakness toward Israel and of pushing Khamenei into agreeing to ceasefire arrangements.
Earlier in July, armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said a devastating strike on Israel had been prepared on Khamenei’s orders but was shelved when a truce took effect.
The debate sharpened after Israeli and US strikes in June on sensitive nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to negotiate a limited arrangement with the IAEA to restore inspector access.
Known as the Cairo agreement, it was signed by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Egypt while parliament was in recess, despite a law requiring suspension of cooperation with the agency.
Araghchi insists the Cairo accord safeguards Iran’s interests and is consistent with the law suspending cooperation. He said it recognizes Tehran’s security concerns, guarantees Iran’s rights, and “creates no access” for inspectors at this stage.
Any monitoring, he said, would only be discussed later with approval from the Supreme National Security Council.
While hardliners accuse the government of forcing concessions on the leader, Fazaeli’s remarks made clear that decisions—whether concessions or escalations—rest with Khamenei himself.
Members of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee questioned whether the agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi, signed last week in Cairo, fully complies with a law passed by parliament that restricts nuclear cooperation.
“Some lawmakers asked whether the government had the authority to sign the agreement and whether parliament’s legislation was observed,” one participant in the meeting, who declined to be named, told the state-run Farhikhtegan daily.
“Mr. Araghchi responded that the negotiations and the agreement had been approved within the framework of the Supreme National Security Council.”
Scope of cooperation
According to accounts published by Iranian media, Araghchi explained that the agreement distinguishes between nuclear facilities that have been bombed and those that remain intact.
Sites such as the Bushehr power plant and Tehran’s research reactor would be subject to requests for inspection on a case-by-case basis, reviewed by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
“For facilities like Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan that were targeted, Iran must first conduct safety and environmental checks,” the participant said. “Reports will only be sent to the IAEA once approved by the SNSC. Any subsequent verification steps will also need council authorization.”
Araghchi told lawmakers that the agreement cites UN resolutions and affirms that attacks on nuclear facilities are illegal under the IAEA statute and international law.
He said the text also explicitly refers twice to Iran’s parliamentary law governing nuclear cooperation, underscoring that inspections cannot proceed without national approval.
Dispute over confidentiality
Some MPs urged the government to publish the text. Araghchi replied that releasing the agreement would contravene diplomatic norms.
“The minister said he had brought the text to the session for review by the committee’s leadership and that it had been circulated to parliament earlier in the day,” Farhikhtegan reported.
While some lawmakers expressed unease, others said the session clarified ambiguities.
Behnam Saeedi, a committee member, told reporters: “Representatives raised concerns that the IAEA has been influenced by Israel and the United States in its reporting. The minister explained the text in detail, and while not all were fully satisfied, many concerns were addressed. The important point is that Iran’s red lines and parliamentary law were observed.”
The Cairo deal was reached after June airstrikes by Israel and the United States damaged several Iranian nuclear facilities, forcing inspectors to withdraw. Grossi has said the agreement covers all declared sites, including those attacked, but that practical arrangements will require further negotiations.
Hardline MP Hamid Rasaee separately criticized the deal on Sunday, saying it lacked explicit safeguards against the UN “snapback” mechanism for restoring sanctions. He argued that Araghchi’s public statements had overstated the protections.
Shortly after, the SNSC confirmed that its nuclear committee had approved the agreement and that Tehran would provide reports to the IAEA only after council review.
