The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a joint statement on 12 September reaffirming their commitment to mutual cooperation.

According to the statement released after a meeting between Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, the UN watchdog agreed that political affairs have no place in their relationship with Tehran.

For its part, Tehran has agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to service monitoring cameras inside Iranian nuclear sites.

“IAEA inspectors are permitted to service the identified equipment and replace their storage media which will be kept under the joint IAEA and AEOI seals in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The way and the timing are agreed by the two sides,” the statement reads.

Last week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry cautioned the IAEA Board of Governors about taking advantage of the organization for political purposes.

The one-day visit by Grossi was his first since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi assumed office in August.

Both sides called the meeting “constructive” and agreed they will continue discussions on the sidelines of the agency’s general conference in Vienna later this month.

Earlier this year, Tehran and the IAEA reached an agreement under which the Islamic Republic agreed to keep camera recordings from its nuclear sites for three months as a show of goodwill, hoping that this would bring the US back into full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the 2015 deal, Tehran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear power activities in exchange for the lifting of crushing economic sanctions, but in 2018, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the deal and re-introduced the sanctions.