IAEA chief says nuclear inspections of Iran's enrichment sites 'going to happen' despite Tehran push

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has given his clearest signal yet that inspectors will gain access to Iran's uranium enrichment sites, pushing back against contradictory statements from both Washington and Tehran that have muddied the terms of last week's landmark ceasefire deal.Speaking at a press conference at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Wednesday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the memorandum of understanding signed by both presidents leaves no room for ambiguity."I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by both presidents," Grossi told journalists.The accord, he said, "says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters.""Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect. Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it's important, but not essential. This is going to happen," he added.A deal clouded by contradictionsPresident Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the memorandum of understanding last week, committing to an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations" and starting a 60-day window to resolve outstanding issues — chief among them the future of Iran's nuclear programme.But the question of IAEA access to enrichment sites has already emerged as the deal's most contentious fault line. On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that UN inspectors were not scheduled to examine the nuclear sites struck by the US and Israel last year, directly contradicting remarks made the day prior by US Vice President JD Vance.Since Israel launched its 12-day war against Iran in June 2025, the IAEA has been blocked from accessing enrichment sites where Tehran is believed to hold enough highly enriched uranium to potentially construct up to 10 nuclear weapons, should it choose to move in that direction. Iran has consistently maintained its programme is peaceful.The IAEA has been permitted to visit some unaffected sites, such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant, but without access to enrichment facilities, it says it cannot verify the status of Iran's uranium stockpile or inspect the centrifuge cascades used for enrichment. Both Iran and the IAEA say Tehran has not been enriching uranium, but non-proliferation experts remain concerned that the Islamic Republic may be moving its stockpile to undeclared locations.Iran holds the distinction of being the only country in the world to have enriched uranium to 60% purity without a declared weapons programme — a level just short of weapons-grade.Why inspections are central to the dealGrossi has previously warned that IAEA involvement is not optional in any meaningful nuclear settlement. "So all of that will require the presence of IAEA inspectors; otherwise you will not have an agreement, you will have an illusion of an agreement," he said at an April press conference in Seoul.Under the terms of the MOU, Iran reaffirmed it would never produce nuclear weapons, while the US committed to lifting sanctions and supporting a reconstruction fund of at least $300 billion (€258.5bn). But sanctions relief is tied to nuclear compliance — and compliance cannot be verified without inspections.The IAEA has said it observed regular vehicle movement in satellite imagery around the entrance to an underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, where uranium enriched to 20% and 60% is believed to be stored, and has stressed the urgency of gaining access without further delay.Lebanon threatens to unravel the dealThe fragile ceasefire is already showing cracks. Iran has said it closed the Strait of Hormuz again, citing ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon as a violation of its agreement with the United States — a claim the US military denied.Hezbollah has rejected successive ceasefire arrangements, with its leader Naim Kassem calling negotiations "absurd, humiliating, and insulting," and insisting on a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as a precondition for any halt to hostilities.Violence flared again in Lebanon on Tuesday but did not escalate further. Iran has made clear that a lasting settlement must include Lebanon — a demand that continues to complicate both the nuclear track and the broader peace process.Tehran has not yet responded to Grossi's remarks from Fukushima.