IAEA chief says inspectors will visit Iran's nuclear sites under Iran-US interim deal

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a news conference at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima pferfecture, Japan Wednesday, June 24, 2026. Kyodo News/via AP hide caption toggle caption Kyodo News/via AP TOKYO — The head of the U.N.'s nuclear agency signaled Wednesday that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the United States and Iran to reach an end to the war. The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi was the firmest yet from the United Nations agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran's nuclear stockpile. Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in 2025, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic Republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons, should it choose to rush for the bomb. Iran long has maintained that its program is peaceful, though it is the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60% purity without a weapons program. The U.S. and Iran offered contradictory remarks Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected. Grossi acknowledged the contradictions, calling it a "war of words" at the moment. …