Iran weighs allowing U.S. inspectors into nuclear sites

Next negotiation round with U.S. is expected soon, under Oman’s mediation.

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Photo credit: Tasnim News Agency

Iran is considering a reversal of its longstanding refusal to allow U.S. inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into its nuclear facilities, should ongoing diplomatic talks with the United States result in a substantive agreement. Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the announcement Wednesday at a press conference in Tehran.

“In the context of the current negotiations, if an agreement is reached that meets Iran’s demands, we could allow U.S. inspectors to enter via the agency,” Eslami said, according to Iranian state media reports.

The remarks come ahead of a sixth round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington, mediated by Oman, aimed at resolving a nuclear dispute stretching back decades. U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted at “good news” but has also warned of military action if no deal is reached.

Since April, the two sides have held five rounds of talks, the most recent taking place last Friday in Muscat. While both delegations acknowledged progress, they admitted that key differences remain unresolved.

At the center of the debate is uranium enrichment. Washington insists Iran reduce enrichment to zero, viewing it as a potential path to nuclear weapons development. Tehran, however, maintains that its program is purely civilian and that enrichment is a sovereign right protected under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“The continuation of enrichment is an inseparable part of Iran’s nuclear industry,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. “Any proposal contradicting this principle is unacceptable.”

Iran is currently enriching uranium to 60%, far beyond the 3.67% limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — but still below the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material.

Parallel talks between Iran and European signatories to the JCPOA — the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — have also continued. But on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that Iran might cut off dialogue with Europe if London continues to support the U.S. “zero enrichment” stance.

In a post on the social media platform X, Araqchi responded to comments from the British ambassador in Washington, who endorsed Trump’s push to eliminate all Iranian enrichment capacity. “If this is your position, there is nothing left to discuss,” the Iranian diplomat wrote.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, reimposing sanctions and sidelining European partners from the negotiating table. The U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 during Trump’s first term, arguing the agreement failed to sufficiently restrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iranian officials continue to stress that their program remains under IAEA oversight and that they have no intention of developing nuclear weapons. The conditional offer to accept U.S. inspectors is seen as a tentative signal of openness in a negotiation process still overshadowed by deep mutual mistrust.

Oman, acting as a mediator, said the date for the next round of talks will be announced in the coming days.

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