UN nuclear chief says inspectors will visit Iran sites as part of war deal

Image source, EPA Image caption, Rafael Grossi said the IAEA was working on dates, procedures and places for the inspections By David Gritten Published 13 minutes ago The head of the global nuclear watchdog has said it will carry out inspections in Iran under the country's preliminary peace agreement with the US. "The inspections will indeed take place," International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi told reporters in Japan. "We will be working on the modalities - dates, procedures, places - very soon." The agreement signed last week said "explicitly" that the dilution of Iran's highly enriched uranium would be carried out under IAEA supervision, he added. However, Iran's deputy foreign minister said access to its damaged nuclear facilities and nuclear material would only be addressed within the framework of a final deal with the US. Grossi's comments come as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Gulf nations to discuss the deal. On Wednesday he met UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is due to travel to Kuwait and Bahrain. The initial US-Iran agreement also said that Iran would allow shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while the US would lift a naval blockade on Iranian ports. On Wednesday the price of Brent crude oil fell to below $75 (£57) for first time since the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Meanwhile the UN said some ships had already passed through the strait under a scheme to evacuate thousands of sailors who have been stranded on vessels because of the war. Iran says no new commitments on nuclear sites after Vance says inspectors to be invited back Published 1 day ago First round of US-Iran talks ends with encouraging progress, mediators say Published 2 days ago In recent days, there has been a dispute between the US and Iran over the issue of UN nuclear inspectors visiting sites in the country. On Monday, following talks in Switzerland with Iran's chief negotiator, US Vice-President JD Vance said Iran had "agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country". The next day, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said there had been "no detailed discussions" and that Iran had no plans to grant IAEA inspectors access to nuclear facilities which were bombed by the US during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025. US President Donald Trump then dismissed Iran's "protestations and false statements to the contrary", saying the country had "fully and completely agreed" to inspections. "There's a war or words here. Some say 'yes', the others say 'no'," the IAEA's chief said on Wednesday. "I can understand political statements. They are part of the reality. "But the fundamental thing... is that there has been a memorandum of understanding signed by both presidents," he added. "[It] says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out, with regards to nuclear material, facilities, will be supervised by the IAEA, in bold letters. This is going to happen." Grossi sai