Iran says it may allow US inspectors from watchdog to visit its nuclear sites if deal reached

Iran might allow the UN atomic watchdog to send US inspectors to Iranian sites if Tehran’s talks with Washington succeed, Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami says.

Tehran and Washington are expected to hold a sixth round of talks over Iran’s nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump predicting “good news.”

“It is normal that inspectors from hostile countries are not allowed, but if a nuclear deal is reached, we might allow American inspectors working for the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit our nuclear sites,” Eslami tells a press conference in Tehran.

The two countries have clashed over the issue of uranium enrichment in Iran, which Washington says is a possible pathway to building nuclear weapons and must be brought to zero. Tehran maintains its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes and views its enrichment industry as a red line.

“Enrichment is the foundation and pillar of the country’s nuclear industry. Suppose someone is allowed to have an electricity substation and network, but not allowed to establish a power plant,” Eslami says.

The New York Times reported earlier today that US officials are worried that Israel could decide to carry out strikes on Iran’s nuclear program without much warning.

Iran, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it has been enriching uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities, and its officials have increasingly warned that they could pursue the bomb.