U.S. President Donald Trump said that if inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resume, American Researchers will be included in the inspection team. Even as the Iranian government counters that it has never confirmed the resumption of nuclear inspections, Trump continues to speak as if inspections will take place as a given.
Fox News reported on the 24th (local time) that in a phone interview with reporter Tray Yingst, Trump said, "There is no need to rush to send the inspection team to Iran, but when the IAEA goes in to look for highly enriched uranium (HEU) in Iran, American Researchers will join."
The United States claims that after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for an end to hostilities between the United States and Iran, Iran accepted IAEA nuclear inspections, but Iran denies this. The previous day at the White House, Trump also told reporters, "The IAEA inspection team will enter Iran's nuclear facilities at an appropriate time." Regarding Iran's statement that "there are no inspection plans," Trump said, "They are wrong," and added, "If what they say is true, I will cancel the meeting right now."
Iran, meanwhile, is still maintaining a cautious stance. Esmail Baghaei, Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denied reports that Iran had accepted IAEA inspections of nuclear facilities hit by U.S. airstrikes, saying, "Whether inspections resume will be decided by the course and outcome of future end-of-hostilities negotiations."
At a luncheon with Republican senators held in the U.S. Senate the same day, Trump also expressed confidence in the negotiations. He said, "Iran is making very big concessions," and "We are winning big. We will see what happens going forward, but so far we have been very strong, and it is going very well." The remarks are seen as an attempt to highlight negotiation results in response to criticism in some quarters in the United States that "too many concessions were made to Iran."