Iran Says No United Nations Inspections of Bombed Nuclear Sites Are Scheduled

Iran said on Tuesday that no visit by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been scheduled to the nuclear sites that the United States bombed in 2025, according to The Hindu. The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, said there had been no meeting with the agency's director general and no plan for inspections of the facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, telling reporters that "no protocol exists" for such access, according to IranWire.

The statement directly contradicts the United States account. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had "completely agreed" to allow the agency to examine the bombed sites, and Vice President JD Vance made the same claim, NBC News reported. The gap widened further because the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said the 60-day license Washington granted on Monday for Iranian oil sales had followed Iran's commitment to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to allow IAEA inspectors back into the country, a commitment Tehran's own officials now dispute. The difference between the two descriptions shows how much remains unsettled in the memorandum of understanding the two governments signed on June 15, which set a timeline toward a final deal within roughly 60 days.

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, quoted by Russia's TASS, said threats from the United States put the negotiations at risk. The ambassador added that Tehran was prepared to continue talks as long as Washington engaged sincerely. Iranian officials cited by The Hindu said Tehran would keep control over the Strait of Hormuz and decide on its own how to use the assets unfrozen under the deal.

The dispute matters to markets because the belief that tensions are easing is what has lowered energy prices. A settlement based on disputed terms can reverse quickly, which keeps a risk premium present in oil prices even as the overall trend is downward.