International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, June 26, 2026.
Yuichi Yamazaki | AFP | Getty Images
An interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran will give inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog access to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
His comments came shortly after US President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspections, even though Iran insisted there were no new plans for UN inspectors to visit sites affected by US and Israeli attacks.
“There’s a bit of a statement war going on here,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said at a news conference in Japan on Friday.
“What is undeniable is that we have an MOU. This MOU specifically says that the core part of the memorandum will be supervised. This is what it says will be supervised by the IAEA. To be supervised, we need to inspect. There is no other way,” Grossi said.
“The technical work has started and we hope to get there soon,” he added.
The United States and Iran signed an interim peace agreement last week to end the conflict in the Middle East, but the two countries continue to clash over some of the details of the 14-point memorandum of understanding.
Under the memorandum, the two sides agreed to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz free of charge for at least 60 days and cease all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where fighting continues between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Another United Nations agency, the International Maritime Organization, has suspended efforts to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded in the Middle East Gulf after a ship was attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
Critics of President Trump’s interim peace agreement and memorandum of understanding question whether the outcome was worth nearly four months of war. He also called for comparisons with former US President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.
President Trump has scrapped the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was agreed to in 2015 during the Obama administration’s first term, calling it “embarrassing” for him as an American citizen.
In an interview with ABC News earlier this month, ahead of the announcement of the interim deal, President Obama said he was “doubtful” that the Trump administration’s deal with Iran would be “significantly different” from the JCPOA.
President Trump has since slammed those who criticized the memorandum, saying those who think he’s not being tough enough on Iran are either “jealous, bad people or stupid people.”
