Trump touts Iran inspection deal, but Tehran rejects key terms

President Donald Trump said on June 23 that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections “long into the future” and even into “infinity,” but Tehran quickly rejected the claim, saying it had made no new commitments. Vice President JD Vance said a day earlier that conversations about inspectors’ return could begin imminently, yet Iran’s foreign ministry said there was no plan for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to inspect damaged nuclear facilities.

The arrangement followed more than three months of war. It was a 60-day U.S. sanctions waiver that would let Iran resume oil sales until August 21, while working groups were expected to keep negotiating sanctions relief and nuclear terms. The framework also included a $300 billion reconstruction plan for Iran, but key details remained unsettled even as Trump and his aides portrayed the deal as a breakthrough.

The IAEA stopped verification work in Iran after the June 22, 2025 U.S. attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities and later withdrew its inspectors for safety reasons. Before the strikes, the agency had verified more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director general, said inspectors would need access under any interim arrangement, but Iran said no such return had been agreed.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said ballistic missile issues remain outside the ongoing talks with the United States. Marco Rubio has said Iran would not be able to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz under a final agreement, while Iranian officials and state media have framed the waterway and any unfrozen assets differently. The two sides were already at odds over whether Tehran had agreed to inspections.

The United States has continued sanctions pressure on Iran’s oil and illicit-finance networks even as the talks continue.