Iran has pushed back against a claim by US Vice-President JD Vance that it will allow nuclear inspectors back into the country, as the Trump administration temporarily waived sanctions to let Tehran sell oil in US dollars for the first time in decades.
Vance said after the first round of US-Iran talks in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock that discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency could be happening “as soon as today”. But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baqai, told state news agency Irna that Tehran had made “no new commitments” on nuclear inspections, insisting any engagement with UN inspectors would take place “under existing procedures set by Parliament and the Supreme National Security Council”.
“Iran denies Vance claim on nuclear inspectors as US eases oil sanctions for 60 days”
In a joint statement released on Monday, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the two sides had agreed to “a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days”. Vance described the talks as laying a “very good foundation” and said the teams had discussed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and “de-confliction for the regional ceasefire”.
The same day, the US Treasury issued a 60-day sanctions waiver that dismantles central pillars of Washington’s long-running embargo, authorising the production, sale and delivery of Iranian crude and petrochemicals until 21 August. Iranian oil can even be imported directly into the US under the relief, which unlocks banking transactions, insurance and transportation and does away with the complex networks Iran has previously used to sell crude.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that in exchange for the waiver, Tehran had committed to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and allowing IAEA nuclear inspectors back into the country. US President Donald Trump also posted on social media that Iran “will agree to have Major Weapons Inspections”.
But Baqai’s denial undercuts those assertions. Iran suspended IAEA access to sites bombed by Israel and the US during the 12-day war last summer, and the following month the UN’s nuclear watchdog said it had pulled out its remaining inspectors from the country.
Asked by reporters on Monday when nuclear inspectors would return, Vance said he expected the process to start “at a minimum this week”, but conversations “could happen as soon as today”. Iran’s foreign ministry, however, told state media it had made “no new commitments” on nuclear inspections.