IAEA says inspectors will return to Iran's nuclear sites under war-ending deal
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the agency is working out the procedures to return inspectors to Iran’s nuclear facilities as part of the memorandum that halted the US-Iran war. Restoring international monitoring of Iran’s enrichment program is one of the core elements of the deal, which paused fighting and reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials pushed back on how far that access extends. Tehran has said it has made no new commitments on its nuclear sites beyond what it already accepts, and one official conditioned fuller cooperation on reaching a comprehensive agreement with Washington rather than the interim memorandum now in force. US and Iranian statements on the scope and timing of inspections have not fully aligned.
The gap matters because verification is what gives the truce durability: without inspectors confirming the state of Iran’s enrichment work, the US has little independent insight into the program it went to war to constrain, and Iran retains leverage by metering how much access it grants. Grossi’s framing — that the IAEA is building the mechanics now — suggests inspections are expected but not yet operational, leaving the most contested questions to the next round of talks.