Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, addresses reporters during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on June 26, 2026.
Yuichi Yamazaki | Afp | Getty Images
An interim peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran provides U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors with access to Iranian nuclear facilities, according to International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.
Grossi’s remarks followed comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Iran had agreed to permit nuclear inspections. Tehran, however, has maintained that there are no new arrangements for U.N. inspectors to visit sites damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Speaking at a news conference in Japan on Friday, Grossi acknowledged the public disagreement over what the agreement allows, saying, “There is a bit of a war of statements here.”
“What is undeniable is that we have an MOU. This MOU specifically indicates that the nuclear part of the memorandum will be supervised. This is the word, will be supervised by the IAEA. In order to supervise, we need to inspect. There is no other way,” Grossi said.
He added that the agency has already begun preparations, saying, “The technical work has started, and we hope to be there soon.”
The U.S. and Iran signed the interim peace deal last week in an effort to end the Middle East conflict, though officials in Washington and Tehran have continued to dispute parts of the 14-point memorandum of understanding.
Under the memorandum, both sides agreed to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz toll-free for at least 60 days and to end all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where fighting has persisted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A separate U.N. agency, the International Maritime Organization, paused its efforts to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded inside the Middle East Gulf after a vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
Critics of Trump’s interim peace deal and the contents of the MOU have questioned whether this outcome was worth nearly four months of war. It has also invited comparisons to former U.S. President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran.
Trump scrapped the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was agreed to in 2015 under the Obama administration during his first term in office, calling it “an embarrassment” to him as a U.S. citizen.
Speaking to ABC News in an interview earlier in the month, ahead of the interim deal being announced, Obama said he was “doubtful” any agreement with Iran put forward by the Trump administration would be “significantly different” from the JCPOA.
Trump has since lashed out at critics of the MOU, saying those who think he hasn’t been tough enough on Tehran were either “jealous, bad people or stupid.”
