Iran has officially canceled its short-lived nuclear cooperation agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was signed in Cairo just weeks ago. The move follows the reactivation of UN sanctions through the snapback mechanism, prompted by a Western-led resolution accusing Tehran of breaching its nuclear commitments.
The agreement had been negotiated and signed in Cairo last month, following back-channel diplomacy involving Egyptian officials. The accord was widely viewed as a rare breakthrough after Iran’s nuclear facilities were bombed by Israel and the United States in June. Egypt had expressed hope that the deal might reopen a path to revived nuclear talks.
Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced the decision during a joint press conference with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji on Monday. “As Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated earlier, if the snapback mechanism is triggered, Iran will reconsider the agreement,” Larijani said. “This has now occurred, and the deal is effectively void.”
In September, after a high-level meeting in the Egyptian capital between Araghchi and IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the two sides had “reached an understanding on how to move forward under the new conditions.” Cairo publicly welcomed the outcome.
However, the optimism was short-lived. In the same month, the UN Security Council reimposed sanctions on Iran under the snapback clause of Resolution 2231. The clause allows any signatory to the 2015 nuclear deal to unilaterally reinstate UN measures if it deems Iran in noncompliance.
The sanctions, originally lifted as part of a UNSC resolution in 2015, include bans on arms sales, uranium enrichment and reprocessing, ballistic missile development, and transfers of related technologies. They also freeze Iranian assets and impose travel bans on individuals and entities.
The renewed restrictions were triggered after a deadline passed on a joint European warning from Paris, London, and Berlin, citing Iran’s failure to meet its obligations.
Meanwhile, tensions have flared since Israel launched an airstrike on Iran on June 13, followed by a US attack targeting Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites on June 22. The 12-day war ended with a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump, who later linked the operation to progress in Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump described the assault on Iran as one of the “most beautiful military operations,” crediting the assault for forcing Tehran into submission. “Our bombers flew into Iranian airspace and returned unscathed. That allowed us to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability,” he said.
Trump had also earlier emphasized US-Israeli collusion in striking Iran played an important role in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. “Without that, we wouldn’t have reached the peace agreement.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded defiantly, calling Trump’s statements “delusions.” He added, “He claims to be a dealmaker, but deals made with threats and coercion are not real, they are imposed dictates. The Iranian people will not accept that.”
Khamenei added, “Coercion might work on some peoples, but it will never work on the Iranian people.”
