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The head of the UN’s nuclear agency says inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities “will indeed take place,” even as Iran insists they hinge on a final deal.
Getting into it: IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told reporters in Japan that the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran states “explicitly” that nuclear activities will be supervised by the agency, meaning “obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect.” He said the dates, places and procedures were being worked out with Tehran, adding that whether it happens “the day after tomorrow, or in one week, or in 10 days” is “important but not essential. This is going to happen.”
Iran pushed back almost immediately. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the matter of any visit to the bombed sites and the material inside them would “solely be examined and resolved within the framework of a final agreement” and only after the US takes “practical action” to end all sanctions. He went after Grossi for not meeting Iranian officials in Switzerland, writing, “Media noise cannot be used to impose facts on the ground.”
This comes after Vance said Monday that Iran had committed to inviting inspectors back, and Trump added that Tehran had “fully and completely agreed” to the “highest level” of inspections, warning there would be no further talks otherwise.
The inspections are central to the agreement, which requires Iran to downblend its highly enriched uranium under IAEA supervision. The agency has been allowed into other sites like the Bushehr plant but remains locked out of the enrichment facilities bombed last year, leaving it unable to verify Iran’s stockpile of roughly 440 kilograms of near-weapons-grade uranium, enough on paper for up to 10 bombs.






