Vance says Iran to restore nuclear inspector access
Neither Iran nor the IAEA has commented on the potential inspections.
WASHINGTON — US Vice President JD Vance said Iran has agreed to restore the UN nuclear watchdog's access to the country, with inspections potentially starting as soon as Monday.
Speaking to reporters in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock, Vance said the International Atomic Energy Agency’s return to Iran would mark a “major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.”
Neither the IAEA nor Iran has commented on the potential inspections, which Vance said could begin “this week, maybe as soon as today."
IAEA inspectors have been barred from Iran's main nuclear facilities since the US strikes on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites last June.
A key concern is the country's estimated 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium that, if further enriched, could be used to develop as many as 10 nuclear weapons.
Vance spoke at the conclusion of high-level talks in Switzerland that followed the two sides’ signing last week of a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war and paving the way for 60 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
It’s unclear how much progress can be made in that timeframe. At nearly 160 pages long, the 2015 nuclear agreement took the United States, Iran and major powers around two years to negotiate.
Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency said Monday that the Iranian delegation did not meet with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who attended the Burgenstock talks.
Grossi met Sunday with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis to discuss “recent developments regarding Iran, the path ahead and the important role of the IAEA,” he said in an X post.
Earlier Monday, Iran said that negotiations on its nuclear program amounted to only a “brief discussion.” The talks instead centered on issues that the MoU was meant to resolve, including enforcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In line with the memorandum, on Monday the US Treasury Department issued a two-month sanctions waiver authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil.
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
