IAEA Chief Says Iran Will Eventually Allow Nuclear Inspections

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday that inspectors will return to Iran’s nuclear facilities, despite Tehran’s latest denials that it plans to allow visits to sites damaged during the war. Speaking during a visit to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, Grossi said the existing understandings require continued international monitoring.

Grossi said, “I understand political statements, they are part of reality, but there is a memorandum of understanding signed by both presidents.” He said the deal stipulates that any nuclear activity at facilities containing nuclear material will be under IAEA supervision, and that inspections are an inseparable part of the arrangement. “If it happens the day after tomorrow, in a week or in ten days, it is important but not critical. It will happen,” he said.

His remarks came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to nuclear oversight “at the highest level” and without a time limit, presenting it as a major breakthrough in talks with Tehran. Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran has no plan to let IAEA inspectors visit nuclear sites that were attacked in the recent confrontation.

The conflicting statements from Tehran, Trump and Grossi have deepened uncertainty about how the understandings will be implemented and whether international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program will continue as envisioned.