Grossi: IAEA inspections of Iran sites 'going to
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- IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said inspectors will visit Iran's enrichment sites under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both presidents, declaring 'this is going to happen' at a news conference at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
- Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected Grossi's remarks on X, insisting inspections can occur only 'within the framework of a final agreement and as a result of practical action by the other side to end all sanctions'
- The IAEA has been blocked from Iran's enrichment sites since Israel's 12-day war on Iran in 2025, leaving it unable to verify uranium stockpiles enriched to 60% purity — a level nonproliferation experts assess could yield as many as 10 nuclear weapons
- The US-Iran deal reached last week requires Iran to 'downblend' its enriched uranium stockpile and waives US-backed sanctions on Iranian oil, giving both sides 60 days to negotiate broader agreements
- Technical-level US-Iran talks are expected to resume early next week at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, with Pakistan's Foreign Ministry confirming Islamabad's role as a key mediator
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a three-nation Persian Gulf tour with a closed-door meeting and working lunch in Abu Dhabi with Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then heading to Kuwait and Bahrain
Why it matters: The contradiction is a red flag: the deal's core verification mechanism — IAEA access to enrichment sites — is the one thing Tehran and Washington are publicly disagreeing about, and the agency has been locked out since Israel's 2025 war on Iran. With a 60-day clock running and nonproliferation experts already worried Iran could be relocating material to undeclared sites, the gap between Grossi's certainty and Gharibabadi's refusal is exactly the kind of 'war of words' that could collapse an interim arrangement before it becomes a final one.
