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TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The imminent visit of the chief of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) to Iran is not related to the snapback of sanctions against Tehran recently raised by the United States at the UN Security Council, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said here on Monday.

The forthcoming visit by the IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi to Iran on Monday is in line with the standing cooperation between the UN nuclear watchdog and the Islamic republic of Iran, Zarif was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

The media speculation that links Grossi's visit to the recent U.S. attempts pertaining to the return of anti-Iran sanctions is "a wrong expression," he said.

Working with IAEA serves "transparency" of Iranian nuclear program, he added.

Grossi is scheduled to arrive in the capital Tehran on Monday to meet with high-level Iranian authorities.

During his visit, Grossi will address the cooperation of Iran with the IAEA, and "in particular Iran's provision of access to the agency's inspectors to requested locations," an IAEA statement said on Saturday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Thursday that Washington started the process to restore all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran, alleging that Iran has been "inconsistent" with its obligations under the accord.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the Iranian 2015 landmark deal in 2018 and reimposed major sanctions on the country's energy and financial sectors. In reaction, Iran dropped major parts of its nuclear obligations.

Iran and most of the parties signed the Iranian nuclear deal have argued that since the United States is no longer in the deal, it cannot resort to the trigger of snapback mechanism. Enditem