Amid the peace talks, US Vice-President JD Vance said that Iran has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into the country.
Who are they? What is their job? News18 explains.
Who are nuclear inspectors?
Nuclear monitors are professional
inspectorsfrom the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA is an independent, international science and technology-based organization within the United Nations family that serves as the world’s nuclear watchdog. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is currently led by Director General Rafael Grossi. Its primary mandate is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy while preventing its misuse for military purposes or nuclear weapons. These monitors are highly trained technical experts, nuclear scientists, engineers, and chemists from various member nations. When inside a country like Iran, these inspectors visit declared nuclear facilities (such as enrichment plants, reactors, and storage sites). They perform on-the-ground verifications, pull chemical samples, audit inventory records, and maintain sophisticated surveillance cameras and seals to track every gram of enriched uranium.
The US’s plans
Following high-level diplomatic peace talks in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, Vanceannounced that Iran had agreed to let these IAEA inspectors back into the country.
The U.S. aims to have these monitors locate, track, and supervise the “down-blending” of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran had previously blocked IAEA access and suspended cooperation following military strikes on its nuclear enrichment sites, causing the agency to pull its remaining in-field inspectors out.
Do other countries have nuclear inspectors?
Over 180 countries host IAEA nuclear inspectors. Under Safeguards Agreements, any nation that is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allows the IAEA to verify that their nuclear materials and facilities are strictly used for peaceful purposes.
Inspectors frequently monitor and verify programs across the globe, including:
Ukraine: Inspectors conduct in-field verification and monitoring.
Iran: Following negotiations to restore access, inspectorshave resumed monitoring activities at unaffected facilities.
India, the U.S., and other NPT States: Routine inspections ensure compliance at civilian nuclear power plants and research reactors.
The IAEA maintains an ongoing roster of inspectors from diverse member states to ensure facilities are complying with international safety and non-proliferation standards.
With agency inputs
