Professor Mohammad Marandi, a senior member of Iran's negotiating delegation, said on Monday that the possibility of IAEA inspectors arriving in Iran was not discussed at all on Sunday, calling Western media reports on the matter 'propaganda' to be ignored.
Professor Mohammad Marandi, a senior member of Iran's negotiating delegation, issued a statement on Monday night specifically labeling Western media reports that IAEA inspectors might soon arrive in Iran as 'propaganda.' Marandi asserted that the possibility was not discussed in Sunday's talks and that the reports should be ignored. This latest denial comes roughly 24 hours after Vice President Vance claimed Iran had agreed to the inspectors' return — a claim Iran's state media has already rejected.
The thread has moved sharply since the first report at 14:21 Jerusalem on Monday, when The Zioneer reported Vance saying Iran had agreed to international inspections of its nuclear facilities. By the same hour, the second iteration had Vance specifying that Iran agreed to the return of IAEA inspectors. At 14:21, the third version saw Iranian state news (Fars) deny that inspector returns were even discussed. Marandi's intervention, citing a single channel (Abu Ali Express) with no independent corroboration, escalates the denial from state media to a named official.
Marandi is a regime insider and former nuclear negotiator; as The Zioneer reported on June 14, he was identified as a deal-team member and has previously dismissed U.S. warnings and expressed readiness for war. Earlier that same day, he stated there would be no further talks with the U.S., setting a pattern of Iranian categorical rejections against U.S. claims of progress.
The only sourcing for Marandi's latest statement is a single outlet, Abu Ali Express. Whether any substantive negotiations or IAEA contact took place over the weekend remains unconfirmed.
4 developments
- StrongIRGC-affiliated Tasnim: IAEA inspector entry to Iran has not been authorized by negotiators
- ConfirmedIranian delegation spokesperson rules out further talks with US
- DevelopingUS assessment: Iran waiting for return of IAEA inspectors as first step in diplomacy
- DevelopingMohammad Marandi, former Iran nuclear negotiator, identified as deal-team member
Source and signal
- Internal intake