The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, confirmed that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites will be inspected.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated on Wednesday that his inspectors will visit Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites, a key element of the interim agreement between the United States and Iran, although Tehran denied a date had been set for any visit.The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, made these statements from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was hit by the tsunami in Japan.
Grossi told reporters: “I can understand political statements, they are part of reality, but the main thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there was a memorandum of understanding signed by the two presidents.” “This will happen.”He added that the agreement “explicitly stipulates that the nuclear activities to be carried out in relation to nuclear material facilities will be subject to the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency in all communications.”He added: “Whether this happens the day after tomorrow, within a week, or within 10 days, it is important, but it is not necessary.”
Contradictory statements from America and Iran
These comments come as the United States and Iran have made conflicting statements about whether to inspect those sites.
UN inspectors are not scheduled to examine nuclear sites bombed by the United States last year, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Tuesday told reporters in Tehran, rejecting comments made by US Vice President J.D. Vance a day earlier.But US President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that Iran had “fully and completely agreed” to allow nuclear inspectors to return. “Iran has fully and completely agreed to conduct nuclear inspections at the highest level for a long time to come (INFINITI!!!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This will ensure ‘nuclear honesty’.”Later in the day, Trump told reporters that IAEA inspectors would be on the ground “at the appropriate time” and suggested that Tehran “made a mistake” when it said a visit was not scheduled. “If they were right, I would cancel the meetings by now,” he said.Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in 2025, Tehran has blocked the International Atomic Energy Agency from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic Republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to build up to 10 nuclear weapons.
Iran maintains that its program is peaceful, even though it is the only country in the world that has uranium enriched to a purity of up to 60% without a weapons program.The IAEA has been allowed to visit other nuclear sites in Iran since the 2025 war, such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant. But without access to enrichment sites, the IAEA says it is unable to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile or inspect the centrifuge cascades used to enrich uranium.The United States and Iran agreed to a deal last week that calls for Tehran to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium and waive US-backed sanctions on the country while giving each side 60 days to reach broader agreements.