UN nuclear chief says inspectors will visit Iran sites as part of war deal

The head of the global nuclear watchdog has said it will carry out inspections in Iran under the country's preliminary peace agreement with the US.

"The inspections will indeed take place," International Atomic Energy Agency director‑general Rafael Grossi told reporters in Japan. "We will be working on the modalities – dates, procedures, places – very soon."

The agreement signed last week said "explicitly" that the dilution of Iran's highly enriched uranium would be carried out under IAEA supervision, he added.

However, Iran's deputy foreign minister said access to its damaged nuclear facilities and nuclear material would only be addressed within the framework of a final deal with the US.

Grossi's comments come as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Gulf nations to discuss the deal. On Wednesday he met UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is due to travel to Kuwait and Bahrain.

The initial US‑Iran agreement also said that Iran would allow shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while the US would lift a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

On Wednesday the price of Brent crude oil fell to below $75 (£57) for the first time since the US‑Israeli war on Iran began.

Meanwhile the UN said some ships had already passed through the strait under a scheme to evacuate thousands of sailors stranded by the war.

The IAEA said in a recent report that its inspectors were allowed to visit Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant earlier this month, but that they were still not given access to the sensitive nuclear facilities that were bombed last June. See the official report for full details.