Grossi meets Araghchi in Cairo after Tehran denies engagement
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on X that he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo, just minutes after Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the meeting cannot be confirmed.
Spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters he had “not heard anything about it.”
Grossi described the engagement as “timely meeting in Cairo with Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi,” saying he is “Grateful for Egypt’s constructive role in supporting peaceful, diplomatic solutions to regional challenges.”
Tens of thousands of US forces in the region are exposed to direct Iranian firepower, said an Iranian lawmaker Monday.
“Fifty thousand American forces are within direct range of the Islamic Republic, without any defense,” said Mojtaba Zarei, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
“Some of their bases are only 200 kilometers away. If a missile is launched from Iran, the time difference compared to their response is incompatible. We can easily inflict heavy damage.”
“Once seen as threats, the US military presence in the region now represents a strategic opportunity” for Iran, he said.
Commenting on nuclear negotiations, Zarei noted, “As far as I know, the fifth round of talks has become more difficult, and the red lines of both sides are colliding.”
Iran is preparing to reject the new US proposal aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff, an Iranian diplomat told Reuters on Monday.
“In this proposal, the US stance on enrichment on Iranian soil remains unchanged, and there is no clear explanation regarding the lifting of sanctions,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Iran is drafting a negative response… which could be interpreted as a rejection.”
The proposal, delivered Saturday by Oman’s foreign minister during a visit to Tehran, followed five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The diplomat said the assessment of Iran’s nuclear negotiations committee—operating under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—is that the US offer cannot serve Tehran’s interests and represents an attempt to push Iran into accepting what was called a “bad deal” through excessive demands.
Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Tehran might consider suspending enrichment under a political understanding if Washington unfreezes Iranian assets and formally recognizes Iran’s right to a peaceful nuclear program.
Washington’s recent written proposal and Donald Trump’s remarks about being close to a deal are part of a broader pressure strategy designed to push Iran toward an imbalanced agreement, Nour News, a media outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote Monday.
“The US proposal, along with Trump’s rare remarks about being ‘close to a deal,’ are part of a combined pressure scenario,” Nour News posted on X.
“The goal is to inflate domestic expectations and impose an imbalanced agreement on Iran.”
The outlet added that threats to invoke the snapback mechanism and the IAEA’s latest report are “complementary instruments in this coordinated push.”
Iran's Athletics Federation said it will take disciplinary action after reports that two athletes and a coach were arrested for alleged sexual assault during the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea.
“Three members of the national team committed inappropriate behavior on the sidelines of the Asian Championships,” the statement said, adding that the matter is under review and disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with regulations.
South Korean police said on Saturday that two Iranian athletes and a coach were arrested in the city of Gumi after a local woman, 20, alleged she had been sexually assaulted at a hotel, where the Iranian delegation was staying.
Iranian newspaper Khabar Varzeshi on Monday published a detailed account of the alleged group sexual assault.
Citing an eyewitness, Khabar Varzeshi reported that around 6 a.m., a 20-year-old Korean woman arrived at the hotel with an Iranian athlete referred to as K, after meeting him at a bar. A second athlete, R, later joined them in the room, followed by a third, M, whose presence prompted the woman to object.
The woman, the report said, entered the bathroom and discreetly sent her location to police. Authorities arrived shortly after and, based on her complaint of group sexual assault, arrested the three.
According to Khabar Varzeshi, the accused claim the first two encounters were consensual and only the third was forced. Police, however, reportedly dismissed this distinction and detained all three men.
The hotel remains under heightened security despite the arrests, the paper added.
Iran’s Ministry of Sports pledged to address the issue, with a senior official, Shervin Asbaghian, saying that serious action would be taken against anyone found responsible.
“We have no tolerance for violations of ethical conduct,” he told Iran’s state news agency IRNA, while calling for a full investigation once the delegation returns to Iran.
It is the latest scandal to rock the sport. Federation president Ehsan Hadadi, who was one of several senior officials on the delegation, has been at the center of allegations of corruption In recent months.
Athletes and coaches have held protest gatherings outside the Ministry of Sports building in Tehran, calling for his resignation, citing concerns over alleged misconduct and mismanagement.
South Korean authorities have not yet confirmed whether formal charges will be filed, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the United States has yet to provide clear assurances on lifting sanctions, a key condition for any nuclear agreement between Tehran and Washington.
“It must be clear to us how the oppressive sanctions against the Iranian people will be lifted, to ensure that past experiences are not repeated,” Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran.
"I regret to inform you that the American side has not yet been willing to clarify this issue," Baghaei said at his weekly press.
The White House ordered a freeze on new sanctions activity on Iran last week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, pausing President Donald Trump’s so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi visited Tehran on Saturday to deliver what Iran described as "elements of a US proposal" related to a possible nuclear agreement.
Muscat has been mediating between Iran and the United States as the two countries seek a breakthrough following five rounds of indirect talks last held in Rome this month.
US proposal under review
Baghaei emphasized that receiving a written text from the US did not signal any agreement on Iran's part.
"Certainly, receiving a text does not mean it is accepted, nor even that it is acceptable," he said. "Exchange of documents is a common practice in all negotiation processes."
Any proposal, Baghaei added, containing “radical and maximalist demands” which ignores what he called the legitimate rights and interests of the Iranian people would not receive a positive response from Tehran.
“The red lines of Iran will be the basis for our response to the American proposal,” he said, underlining the centrality of Iran’s uranium enrichment program and the demand for effective lifting of sanctions.
Iran accuses IAEA of bias
Baghaei also addressed the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying it was prepared under pressure from certain Western countries.
“The report contains mostly repetitive content, and some technical matters have been exaggerated,” he said. “We are certain that this report was prepared under pressure from specific countries.”
Documents seen by the IAEA showed that Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the UN nuclear watchdog at three locations which have long been under investigation, Reuters reported last week.
Baghaei criticized what he described as a long-standing pattern of Western states using international organizations for political purposes. “Unfortunately, this has become an undesirable trend over the past two decades,” he added.
He said that Iran’s nuclear activities remain under full monitoring by the agency and warned against misrepresenting internal procedural issues—such as revoking the accreditation of a few inspectors—while ignoring the continued presence of 125 active inspectors in the country.
Israel using nuclear issue to sway US policy, Iran says
Responding to longstanding allegations that Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons, Baghaei argued that such claims have been used politically by Israel to influence US foreign policy.
“If you review the reports on Iran’s nuclear issue, you will see that since 1984, officials from the Zionist regime have claimed that Iran would obtain a nuclear bomb within six months,” he said. “It’s been nearly 40 years. The peaceful nature of our nuclear program has been consistently proven.”
He added, “Israel’s concern is not about a nuclear Iran, but about losing its ability to impose its will in the region and control US foreign policy.”
No clarity from US yet
Baghaei said that Iran’s key demand remains the complete and verifiable removal of economic sanctions.
“In the nuclear field, the matter is clear to us. If America’s concern is the absence of nuclear weapons, that issue is already resolved,” he said. “What matters is ensuring the real and observable end of the sanctions imposed over the past decades.”
He explained that Iran seeks to see practical outcomes, including improvements in banking, trade, and economic relations.
“This is a clear contradiction in the US approach,” Baghaei said. “On one hand, they claim to support diplomacy, but on the other, they reinforce the very obstacles that prevent any understanding.”
He said Iran regards any new sanctions as “a sign of the lack of seriousness and real intent on the part of the United States to advance diplomatic efforts.”
On the potential activation of the “snapback” mechanism—formally known as the dispute resolution process under the 2015 nuclear deal—Baghaei warned, “We have anticipated multiple scenarios. If such a mechanism is triggered by European signatories, we will respond in kind and appropriately.”
Consortium cannot replace enrichment inside Iran
Baghaei also said that any proposal to replace Iran's domestic uranium enrichment with a multinational consortium is unacceptable.
“This idea is not new, and it’s not surprising that negotiating parties continue to raise it. But the consortium proposal can in no way replace enrichment on Iranian soil.”
Baghaei added that while Iran is willing to participate in such initiatives, it would not consider any arrangement that undermines what Tehran sees as its sovereign right under international law.
Iran remains under global sanctions not only for its nuclear program but also over its human rights record at home, and supporting Russia's war on Ukraine. The situation has left Iran's economy in its worst state since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
