UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Welcomes Iran-US Peace Deal, Says Technical Phase Begins
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday welcomed the interim peace agreement signed by the United States and Iran, saying attention would now shift to the technical work required to implement its provisions.
“It is good that the memorandum is there. Now the technical work starts,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters in Geneva.
“Now it is for us to sit down with our American and Iranian colleagues and start formulating concrete steps that will have to be taken,” he said.
The 14-point agreement, signed on Wednesday evening, extends a ceasefire first announced in April by another 60 days, including in Lebanon, to provide time for negotiations on a permanent truce.
US and Iranian officials said President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the memorandum digitally in English and Farsi. Moreover, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the agreement took effect on Wednesday.
Grossi said the IAEA’s role would be central to implementing the deal.
“The fact that they are mentioning that this will be under the supervision and control of the IAEA is very important, because in our conversation, what we are going to be doing is defining what we need to see, what we need to access,” he said.
He added that the scale of the agency’s work would depend on the final terms of the agreement, with technical discussions aimed at translating its broad principles into practical measures.
In February, Iran and the United States failed to secure a breakthrough during talks in Geneva aimed at resolving their long-running nuclear dispute. While Omani mediators reported progress and technical discussions with the IAEA were scheduled to take place in Vienna the following week, those efforts were interrupted when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran 48 hours later, triggering a regional conflict.
Grossi urged against dwelling on past setbacks.
“We have a chance and we need to seize it,” he said.
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