UN watchdog chief says Iran nuclear inspections inevitable

The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has indicated that inspectors will eventually return to Iran's uranium enrichment facilities, underlining a key provision of the interim agreement reached between the United States and Iran aimed at ending hostilities.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi delivered the clearest indication yet that the agency will resume oversight of Iran's enrichment activities, a crucial element in assessing the status of Tehran's nuclear program, Associated Press reports.

Since Israel's 12-day war with Iran in 2025, Tehran has barred IAEA inspectors from visiting enrichment facilities where the Islamic Republic is believed to hold enough highly enriched uranium to potentially produce up to 10 nuclear weapons, should it decide to pursue such a course. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, although it remains the only country without a declared weapons program to enrich uranium to 60% purity.

The issue of inspections has become a point of contention, with Washington and Tehran offering conflicting statements on June 23 regarding whether access to the sites would be granted.

“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by both presidents,” Grossi told journalists during a news conference at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

The agreement, he noted, “says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters.”

Grossi stressed that inspections would be necessary to fulfill that mandate.

“Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect. Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important, but not essential. This is going to happen,” he said.

The inspections are considered a central component of the agreement, which calls for Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be diluted to lower enrichment levels.

Iranian officials did not immediately respond to Grossi's remarks. However, on June 23, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that United Nations inspectors were not scheduled to examine nuclear facilities targeted by US strikes last year, rejecting comments made a day earlier by US Vice President JD Vance.

Although the IAEA has been permitted to visit other nuclear installations in Iran since the 2025 conflict, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant, it has not regained access to the country's enrichment sites. The agency says that without such access it cannot verify the status of Iran's uranium stockpile or inspect the centrifuge cascades used in the enrichment process.

Both Iran and the IAEA maintain that Tehran is not currently enriching uranium. Nevertheless, non-proliferation experts have expressed concerns that Iran could be relocating its uranium stockpile to undeclared locations.

The United States and Iran reached an agreement last week under which Tehran would dilute its enriched uranium reserves in exchange for the lifting of US-backed sanctions on Iranian oil exports. The deal also grants both sides 60 days to negotiate broader arrangements.

However, the fragile ceasefire has already faced challenges. Iran recently announced the closure of the strait once again amid renewed clashes involving Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Fighting resumed in Lebanon on June 23, though it did not escalate further.

By Vafa Guliyeva