Iran wants to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) back into the country, US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday, but he did not lay out a timetable.
Vance made his comments at the end of his talks with the Iranian side at the Bürgenstock Resort hotel complex in Switzerland. The negotiators tried at 2 am (0000 GMT) to reach the inspectors but most did not answer the phone, he said.
Iran did not confirm that inspectors would be allowed to re-enter the country. Any such decision would first have to be coordinated with parliament and the Supreme National Security Council, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state news agency IRNA.
US President Donald Trump reiterated on his Truth Social platform that Iran should allow the IAEA back into the country. "Everybody is fully aware that Iran will agree to have Major Weapons Inspections in order to ensure 'Nuclear Honesty' long into the future," he wrote.
Last autumn, the IAEA visited some sites of Iran's nuclear programme that had not been damaged by the Israeli and US strikes in June 2025. Since those first attacks, it has had no access to Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.
At the end of February, the United States and Israel began a war against Iran, which is now to be settled under a framework agreement.
The Iranian delegation did not allow IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to participate directly in Sunday's talks with the US. According to media reports, Grossi was present at the Bürgenstock venue, but the Iranian team showed no interest in engaging with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog.
Negotiations to continue at technical level
Vance returned to the United States later on Monday. Negotiations with Iran would continue at the technical level, he said.
He said a procedure had been agreed to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open. Iran had closed the waterway, which is key to oil and fertilizer traffic from neighbouring states, to the world markets.
Trump said on Monday that the strait was fully open, although US media reports pointed to lower shipping traffic than before the war.
The two sides agreed on how to discuss any ceasefire violations stemming from the framework agreement, including in Lebanon, to prevent a new escalation.
"We have laid very solid foundations for reaching a successful final agreement," Vance said. He added that much work still lay ahead for the negotiators. The framework agreement states the intention to reach the final agreement within 60 days if possible.
On the Iranian assets mentioned in the framework agreement, Vance said the US and Qatar would retain oversight of what would be paid out and when. The money would be used to buy soybeans, maize and wheat from the US.
"If the Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they are going to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people," Vance said.
Iran rejected reports that frozen Iranian assets could be used to purchase US agricultural products, with a source from the Iranian negotiating team telling Tasnim news agency that the claims were inaccurate. The report has so far neither been confirmed nor denied by Iranian authorities.
