Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that American inspectors will take part in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) missions when it eventually enters Iran for uranium inspections.
Trump told Fox News that there was currently “no rush” to deploy the teams. He said Tuesday that inspection teams would arrive on the ground at the “appropriate time.”
The US president said the nuclear material is trapped under a “mountain” of debris that collapsed following targeted airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025.
Iran did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, confirmed that inspections at Iranian enrichment facilities would move forward despite Tehran’s objections.
The accord “says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters,” Grossi told reporters.
There are reportedly 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) of enriched uranium trapped under the debris of sites targeted during a US-Israeli offensive in June last year. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier confirmed the material is “under the rubble” with no immediate plans to retrieve it.
Trump also clarified that initial financial relief for Tehran will involve approximately $500 million in American goods. US officials said the assistance, linked to Treasury Department oil waivers, requires Tehran to uphold its side of the diplomatic agreement.
The US president had said earlier that no cash would be provided directly to Tehran.
Instead, Washington intends to utilize controlled Iranian funds to pay American farmers for exports such as corn and wheat.
“Food is desperately needed in Iran, and we will be purchasing it for them exclusively from the United States,” he added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided further details on the mechanism, telling CNBC on Wednesday that the US will oversee the release of Iranian frozen funds in the Gulf under Trump’s Iran deal.
“Any money that the Iranians get first is going to be used for the benefit of the Iranian people. It is going to be Iranian frozen funds,” Bessent said.
Bessent said the initial money would likely be released from Qatar, adding that US Treasury officials “will have people sitting in Doha overseeing that, how the money is allocated.”
“A very large percent of it will go to buy US foodstuffs and medicines. So, we will be recycling the money back into US products, but it will be overseen by Treasury in the Middle East,” he said.
