(NEWSMAX) Vice President JD Vance said nuclear inspectors will “absolutely” be allowed back into Iran as part of a broader U.S. agreement aimed at ending the monthslong war, NBC News reported Monday, citing an interview with Vance.
Vance said the International Atomic Energy Agency, along with the United States, would help oversee the destruction of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile under the emerging deal framework.
“In fact, one of the core parts of the agreement is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile, and that’s something that’s spelled out very clearly,” he said.
The comments come as international pressure continues to mount over Iran’s nuclear transparency, with Reuters reporting that inspection and verification measures remain among the most sensitive unresolved elements in the broader U.S.-Iran understanding.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has sought expanded access to Iranian nuclear sites after periods in which monitoring was disrupted and inspector access was restricted amid heightened regional tensions.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, operates under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is responsible for verifying that civilian nuclear programs are not diverted toward weapons development through inspections, surveillance, and nuclear material accounting.
Under normal safeguards, inspectors conduct both scheduled and short-notice visits to declared facilities, supported by monitoring cameras and tracking systems designed to verify uranium enrichment levels and inventory stockpiles.
But Reuters has reported that the inspection regime has come under strain in Iran in recent years, with repeated limitations on inspector access reducing the agency’s ability to fully verify nuclear material and enrichment activity.
Pressure on Tehran has also intensified following a U.S.-backed resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, which called for Iran to fully cooperate with inspectors, declare its uranium stockpiles, and restore access to affected nuclear sites.
That move reflected growing concern among Western governments over Iran’s accumulation of near-weapons-grade uranium and unresolved questions about material that has not been fully accounted for following earlier disruptions at key facilities.
The resolution stopped short of an immediate referral to the U.N. Security Council but significantly escalated diplomatic pressure on Tehran to restore full compliance with safeguards obligations.
Taken together, the developments underscore how central inspection rights and verification mechanisms have become to any potential agreement, with both Washington and international nuclear authorities stressing that on-the-ground monitoring would be essential to enforcing any deal.
