The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has declared that a “very strong” verification regime must be put in place in Iran “as soon as is practicable” to ensure no nuclear weapon is developed, as a preliminary US-Iran memorandum of understanding opened a 60-day negotiation window. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, speaking in Tokyo on Friday, confirmed that the agency has held “initial conversations” with Iranian officials but acknowledged that the watchdog has “barely initiated” substantive talks on the fate of Tehran’s uranium stockpile. His remarks exposed a central tension: while the memorandum signed by Presidents Trump and Pezeshkian expressly states that the nuclear file will be supervised by the IAEA, Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday that there is “no plan for access to the facilities that were attacked or to the nuclear materials” without a final deal and the lifting of sanctions.

Viewed from Washington, the memorandum is understood to grant UN inspectors the access required to verify compliance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, touring Gulf allies, has signalled that any permanent accord must include robust nuclear constraints. US officials point to the text’s provision for downblending Iran’s enriched uranium under IAEA supervision as evidence that on-the-ground verification is already agreed in principle. In Tehran, however, the foreign ministry spokesman denied reports that Iran had invited the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities, and state-linked media quoted a deputy foreign minister insisting no meeting with Grossi took place in Switzerland. Iranian officials maintain that the country’s nuclear programme is exclusively civilian and that cooperation with the IAEA, suspended by parliamentary law after the June 2025 US-Israeli strikes, will resume only within a comprehensive settlement.

Before the 12-day war last year, the IAEA estimated Iran held 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity — a level that, if further enriched, would be sufficient for about ten nuclear weapons by the agency’s yardstick. The current location and condition of that material remain unknown because Iran has barred inspectors from sites hit by the strikes. Grossi said the “widespread impression” is that the stockpile remains near the Isfahan facility, but stressed that “we need to be certain.” The memorandum lists downblending as one option for dealing with the material; Grossi noted that direct export is also technically possible, though “perhaps more complicated.” The IAEA’s immediate priority, he said, is to verify that agency seals on previously inspected material are intact and that no nuclear material has been moved since the last comprehensive inspection in 2015.

The nuclear dossier is only one element of the broader US-Iran talks, which also cover the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon. An attack on a vessel in the strait this week forced the UN to suspend an evacuation of mariners stranded since the war began, while Rubio dismissed any suggestion of Iran charging transit fees as a recipe for “chaos.” In parallel, an Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed three people on Thursday, underlining the fragility of the regional security environment. The IAEA expects technical discussions to accelerate in the coming weeks, but no date for an inspection visit has been set. Grossi described himself as “optimistic” about travelling to Tehran soon, while cautioning that “intentions are not enough.”