The UN’s chief nuclear inspectors have said they will review Iran’s war deal

In recent days, there has been a dispute between the United States and Iran over the issue of visits by UN nuclear inspectors to sites in the country.

Following talks with Iran’s chief negotiator in Switzerland on Monday, US Vice President JD Vance said Iran had “agreed to invite the IAEA inspectors back home”.

The next day, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said there were “no detailed discussions” and that Iran had no plans to hand over nuclear facilities to IAEA inspectors bombed by the US during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025.

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s objections and false statements to the contrary, saying the country “fully and completely agrees” to inspections.

“Here there is a war or words. Some say ‘yes’, others say ‘no’,” the head of the IAEA said on Wednesday. “I can understand political statements, they are part of reality.

But the important thing…is that there is a memorandum of understanding signed by both presidents,” he added. “(This) clearly states in bold letters that the nuclear activities related to nuclear equipment and facilities will be under the control of the IAEA. This is going to happen.”

Grossi said the search will be conducted in cooperation and collaboration with the Iranian government. “This will happen the day after tomorrow, or in a week, or in 10 days, whether it’s important or not.”

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, appeared to push back on the comments.

Access to Iran’s defunct nuclear facilities and nuclear materials will only come within the framework of the final agreement with the US and after practical steps are taken to lift all sanctions, they wrote in X.

“The noise of the media cannot be used to press the facts on the ground,” he said.

In the 14-point memorandum of understanding, the US and Iran pledged to negotiate a final deal within 60 days.

“Agreed to resolve the disposal of stockpiled enriched material, in accordance with a mutually agreed method … in an IAEA-controlled area with a minimum mixing method”.

The IAEA said in a recent report., External The inspectors were allowed to visit Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant earlier this month, but have still not been granted access to the sensitive nuclear facilities that were bombed last June.

That means he cannot provide any information on the size, composition or location of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, or whether Iran has halted all enrichment activities, the watchdog said. Most of the stockpile is believed to be in underground tunnels at the Isfahan site.

Enriched uranium can be used to produce reactor fuel, but also nuclear weapons.

In the year On February 28, before the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, the IAEA stated that Iran had 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60%, which is weapons-grade. That’s theoretically enough for up to 90% enriched up to 10 bombs.

Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and that it never seeks to develop or acquire nuclear weapons.

In the year In a 2015 accord with the United States and five other world powers, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities and be freed from economic sanctions to allow uninterrupted and robust monitoring by IAEA inspectors.

However, Trump In his first term in office in 2018, he abandoned the deal and reinstated US sanctions, saying it did too little to stop the path to the bomb.

Iran retaliated by further violating the deal’s restrictions, particularly on uranium enrichment.