IAEA Ready to Define Steps for Implementing US-Iran Deal
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated on Thursday that it is prepared to begin outlining the specific actions required to implement the agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the conflict in West Asia.
US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a deal on Wednesday intended to halt hostilities. Under the terms, Tehran has agreed to reduce its enriched uranium stockpile in exchange for substantial economic relief.
“Now it is for us to sit down with our American colleagues, our Iranian colleagues, and start formulating the concrete steps that will have to be taken,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told reporters in Geneva.
The agreement seeks to resolve the conflict that began in February 2025, when the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global trade. Washington subsequently blocked shipping to and from Iranian ports.
According to the terms released by US officials, Iran will dilute its enriched uranium stocks, possibly through “down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA,” the UN nuclear watchdog.
“This is a very complex operation and it is not a secret, so we will have to be very, very detailed,” Grossi said. He added that the outcome would depend “on the political will of both sides.”
“Anything can work when two sides decide that they want something to be done,” he said, noting that they were looking to his organisation to advise them on what is needed.
The IAEA estimates that Iran had 440 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent—close to weapons-grade—when the first attacks occurred in June 2025. Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA at that time, and inspectors have not accessed the material since.
The UN watchdog’s governing board recently approved a Western resolution demanding that Iran immediately provide information and access to its uranium stockpile and production facilities. Tehran called the resolution “counter-productive” during ongoing talks and described it as “politically motivated,” a charge Grossi strongly denied.
“The work of the IAEA is impartial, technical work,” he said. “The fact that in this memorandum of understanding the indispensable role of the IAEA is recognised… it says it all in terms of our credibility and the indispensable role we have to play.”
The agreement is a temporary arrangement designed to allow time for detailed negotiations on long-term control over Iran’s nuclear programme, which Washington suspects may have a covert weapons objective.
“I think it is good that the memorandum is there,” Grossi said. “Now the technical work starts.”
