A deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Massimo Aparo, arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks aimed at restoring oversight of Iran’s nuclear programme. It is the first visit by a senior IAEA official since Iran suspended cooperation with the UN watchdog last month. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will not permit inspections of nuclear sites during the trip and insisted that any future access must be authorised by the Supreme National Security Council. “Until we reach a new agreement framework, no cooperation will begin,” Araghchi told state media, describing the forthcoming negotiations as “technical” and “complicated.” Tehran halted collaboration with the agency after a 12-day air war in June, when Israeli and US strikes hit key facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, killing nearly 1,100 people in Iran and 28 in Israel. In early July, parliament enacted a law requiring high-level approval for all IAEA inspections, further limiting the agency’s ability to monitor uranium enrichment that has reached 60 percent purity, close to weapons-grade levels. After Monday’s meetings, Iranian officials said both sides agreed to continue consultations, but no date was set for a follow-up session. European participants in the defunct 2015 nuclear accord—Germany, Britain and France—have warned they may trigger UN sanctions by the end of August if Iran and the IAEA fail to revive a monitoring mechanism.