Vance says Iran has agreed to IAEA inspectors, timetable not announced
On Monday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced that Iran has agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors back into the country, noting that conversations regarding their return could begin as early as this week.
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 05:40 | 22 June 2026
Iran wants to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) back into the country, US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday, but he did not lay out a timetable.
Vance made his comments at the end of his talks with the Iranian side at the Burgenstock Resort hotel complex in Switzerland. The negotiators tried at 2 am (0000 GMT) to reach the inspectors but most did not answer the phone, he said.
Last autumn, the IAEA visited some sites of Iran's nuclear programme that had not been damaged by the Israeli and US strikes in June 2025. Since those first attacks, it has had no access to Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.
At the end of February, the United States and Israel began a war against Iran, which is now to be settled under a framework agreement.
Vance said he would return to the US as early as Monday. Negotiations with Iran would continue at the technical level, he said.
He said a procedure had been agreed to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open. Iran had closed the waterway, which is key to oil and fertilizer traffic from neighbouring states, to the world markets.
The two sides agreed on how to discuss any ceasefire violations stemming from the framework agreement, including in Lebanon, to prevent a new escalation.
"We have laid very solid foundations for reaching a successful final agreement," Vance said. He added that much work still lay ahead for the negotiators. The framework agreement states the intention to reach the final agreement within 60 days if possible.
On the Iranian assets mentioned in the framework agreement, Vance said the US and Qatar would retain oversight of what would be paid out and when. The money would be used to buy soybeans, maize and wheat from the US.
"If the Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they are going to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people," Vance said.
Vance made his comments at the end of his talks with the Iranian side at the Burgenstock Resort hotel complex in Switzerland. The negotiators tried at 2 am (0000 GMT) to reach the inspectors but most did not answer the phone, he said.
Last autumn, the IAEA visited some sites of Iran's nuclear programme that had not been damaged by the Israeli and US strikes in June 2025. Since those first attacks, it has had no access to Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.
At the end of February, the United States and Israel began a war against Iran, which is now to be settled under a framework agreement.
Vance said he would return to the US as early as Monday. Negotiations with Iran would continue at the technical level, he said.
He said a procedure had been agreed to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open. Iran had closed the waterway, which is key to oil and fertilizer traffic from neighbouring states, to the world markets.
The two sides agreed on how to discuss any ceasefire violations stemming from the framework agreement, including in Lebanon, to prevent a new escalation.
"We have laid very solid foundations for reaching a successful final agreement," Vance said. He added that much work still lay ahead for the negotiators. The framework agreement states the intention to reach the final agreement within 60 days if possible.
On the Iranian assets mentioned in the framework agreement, Vance said the US and Qatar would retain oversight of what would be paid out and when. The money would be used to buy soybeans, maize and wheat from the US.
"If the Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they are going to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people," Vance said.
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