The head of the United Nations’ nuclear programme on Wednesday indicated that inspectors would soon be allowed to visit Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities, marking a crucial step in the interim agreement reached between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries.
The remarks by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi were the clearest indication yet from the UN agency regarding the future of inspections in Iran. The IAEA is considered central to verifying the status of Iran’s nuclear programme and monitoring its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Since Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran in 2025, Tehran has prevented IAEA inspectors from accessing key enrichment sites. Iran is believed to possess enough highly enriched uranium at these facilities to potentially produce up to 10 nuclear weapons if it were to pursue a weapons programme.
Iran, however, has consistently insisted that its nuclear programme is intended solely for peaceful purposes. Nevertheless, it remains the only country without a declared nuclear weapons programme that enriches uranium to 60 per cent purity, a level significantly higher than that required for civilian energy use.
On Tuesday, Washington and Tehran offered conflicting statements regarding whether inspectors would be granted access to the nuclear sites under the terms of their recent agreement.
Addressing reporters during a news conference at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Grossi acknowledged the political differences surrounding the issue but stressed that the agreement itself was clear.
“I can understand political statements; they are part of reality,” Grossi said. “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.”
He noted that the accord explicitly states that all nuclear activities involving nuclear materials and facilities in Iran would be subject to IAEA oversight and monitoring.
Grossi emphasized that inspections would therefore be unavoidable. “Obviously, to do that, we have to inspect,” he said, adding that whether inspectors visit in a few days or within a week is not critical. “This is going to happen,” he stated.
The inspections are considered a vital component of the interim US-Iran agreement, which requires Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be downblended to lower enrichment levels as part of efforts to ease international concerns over its nuclear programme.