Vice President Vance Confirms Iran's Claim to Agree to the Return of IAEA Inspectors

JAKARTA - US Vice President JD Vance on Monday reiterated his claim that Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors to return to the country, while Tehran denied making any new commitments regarding its nuclear program.

"We have asked Iran to allow weapons inspectors, nuclear inspectors, to enter their country for the first time in a long time. Obviously we will strengthen the inspection regime to ensure that they will never have nuclear weapons," said Vice President Vance to reporters before leaving Switzerland after talks with Iranian officials, launching Anadolu (23/6).

Vice President Vance said the new round of negotiations in Burgenstock laid "the foundation for what could be a truly transformed Middle East," while stressing that a final deal had not been reached.

Technical-level discussions between the US and Iranian teams will continue in the coming days, with both parties remaining engaged in Switzerland.

"We continue to make progress in these technical negotiations. We left many of our team members, and Iran also left many of their team members at the resort there to continue working," said Vice President Vance.

"I feel very happy with the progress we have made in recent days," he added.

As previously reported, Vice President Vance on Monday said Iran had agreed to invite inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) back to the country, after the first round of talks to end the war in the Middle East.

Tehran and Washington held peace talks with the mediation of Pakistan and Qatar at the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Burgenstock Resort, Switzerland, Sunday (21/6).

"Iran has agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back to their country," Vice President Vance told reporters at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland, where his talks with Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, began on Sunday, Al Arabiya and AFP reported.

"It is an important milestone for the American people and the first step in permanent denuclearization or permanently ending the nuclear weapons program in Iran," he said.

The Lake Lucerne Summit was held following the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which consists of 14 points and was signed by President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last week.

The US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance. From the Iranian side there was the Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Galibaf. Meanwhile, Pakistan is led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatar is led by Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

The talks in Switzerland are the first stage of a two-month negotiation period set out under an initial deal agreed last week.

However, citing a source, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency denied Vice President Vance's claim, stating that there was no discussion during recent talks in Switzerland regarding the return of IAEA inspectors to Iran.

Later, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran "has not made any new commitments to any party" regarding cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, according to state television station IRIB.

Baghaei said sources who were aware of the information from the 18-hour talks with the United States in Switzerland on Sunday confirmed that no negotiations were conducted on Iran's nuclear issue and no new commitments were made.

He said that any future nuclear negotiations based on the 14-Point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding would depend on the implementation of Article 13 of the agreement.

Article 13 of the memorandum of understanding is understood as the main prerequisite for starting formal talks on nuclear-related issues, although the exact provisions have not been made public.

Baghaei previously said that talks in Switzerland focused on unresolved provisions in the Islamabad memorandum, in particular ending the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.

Under the terms of last week's preliminary agreement, released by US officials, Iran would reduce its stockpiles of enriched uranium, possibly by "on-site blending under IAEA supervision," the UN nuclear watchdog.

The IAEA estimates Iran has 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent, close to the level needed for a bomb.

Iran itself suspended cooperation with the IAEA after Israel and the United States launched the previous wave of attacks in June 2025 and inspectors have not seen the material since then.