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TOKYO — The head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency said Wednesday that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors as part of the interim U.S.-Iran deal to reach an end to the war. An Iranian diplomat instead insisted any such visit would only come after a final deal.

The comments echoed contradictory remarks about nuclear inspections a day earlier from the U.S. and Iran. During the week since the two countries signed the deal, their leaders have repeatedly disagreed in public about what that document actually means.

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi on Wednesday acknowledged the “war of words” over Iran’s nuclear program. But the dueling narratives are playing out on several fronts, including Israel’s war with Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and how Tehran will spend billions of dollars once unfrozen.

Through the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the U.S. and Iran agreed to a 60-day period to iron out these and other details. Until that happens — during private talks — leaders from both countries will also continue to negotiate in public, raising the risks of derailing the shaky ceasefire in the region.

The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a threat to the U.S.-Iran diplomacy, flared Wednesday. Israel launched an airstrike that killed two people in southern Lebanon, the country’s state-run news agency said. It was Israel’s first airstrike on Lebanon since the latest ceasefire took effect on Saturday. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike.

Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites. The Islamic Republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons, should it choose. Iran maintains that its program is peaceful, though it is the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60% purity without a weapons program.

Grossi’s remarks were the firmest yet from the United Nations agency, which is central to determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a memorandum of understanding, signed by both presidents,” he said at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

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,” he said.

“Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect,” Grossi said. “Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important, but not essential. This is going to happen.”

The deal calls for Iran’s uranium to be “downblended” from highly enriched levels.

IRAN OBJECTS

Kazem Gharibabadi, an Iranian deputy foreign minister, took a swipe at Grossi after his remarks, saying Tehran didn’t meet with him while in Switzerland.

“These issues will be reviewed and decided only within the framework of a final agreement and as a result of practical action by the other side to end all sanctions and other measures.” Gharibabadi wrote on X.

He added: “You cannot advance the ‘stir up and take over’ policy with media hype.”

Even as Trump kept up pressure on Iran, Iranian leaders sought to portray the deal at home not as a concession to U.S. pressure, but as a victory secured through force.

Speaking in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and the head of the country’s negotiating team, called the accord “America’s declaration of defeat” and said it had resulted from “the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation.”

His triumphalist rhetoric appeared to be aimed, in part, at heading off domestic criticism from Iranian hard-liners who oppose negotiations with Washington.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been allowed to visit other nuclear sites in Iran since the 2025 war. But without accessing the enrichment sites, the agency says it can’t verify the status of Iran’s stockpile. Both Iran and the agency say Tehran hasn’t been enriching uranium, but nonproliferation experts worry the Islamic Republic may be moving its stockpile.

The U.S. and Iran agreed to the deal last week that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on Iranian oil.

But the uneasy ceasefire already has been tested by Iran saying it closed the Strait of Hormuz again over fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.

ISRAEL STEADFAST

Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday the U.S. has not demanded that Israel withdraw from Lebanon. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu later declared that “as long as I am Prime Minister, we will maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon.”

Lebanese and Israeli officials are meeting this week in Washington as part of direct negotiations between the two countries, through which Lebanon hopes to reach a plan for Israeli withdrawal.

Technical-level talks between the U.S. and Iran are expected to resume early next week in Switzerland, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Pakistan has been a key mediator.

The interim deal also includes a pledge to unfreeze billions in Iranian assets. U.S. President Donald Trump wants that money to go toward buying American-grown crops, but Iranian officials say they should decide how its spent.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department would have people in Qatar to oversee what happens with the funds. He said in a CNBC interview that Iran would spend “a very large percent” of its released money on “U.S. foodstuffs and medicines.”

“We will be recycling the money back into U.S. products,” Bessent said.

RUBIO ON ROAD

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled in the Persian Gulf for a three-nation tour, starting with a meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the State Department said Wednesday.

“We’re not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies,” Rubio later said while in Kuwait, where the Trump administration announced the limited reopening of the U.S. Embassy that was closed at the height of the Iran war.

Before leaving for Bahrain, Rubio said ongoing negotiations include the creation of “hundreds of specific areas” where Lebanon’s military could secure its territory. He called the discussions part of the process and said it’s not going to “happen overnight.”

Some Persian Gulf states, which have long relied on U.S. security guarantees, were frustrated that the preliminary agreement did not address Iran’s missile or drone programs, an omission that has fueled a broader reassessment of their relationship with the United States.

“We want to make sure that their views are taken into account, and we understand their security concerns, their regional economic concerns as well,” Rubio said shortly after arriving in Abu Dhabi. “So it’s natural for us to be here and talk to them because it’s a very important issue for them. They’re right next to it.”

The diplomatic outreach followed the latest round of negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials in Switzerland on turning the initial accord signed last week into a lasting deal to end the war.

As Rubio’s trip got underway, Trump said on social media that Iran had assured Washington it was neither seeking nor collecting tolls from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The issue is expected to be high on the agenda during Rubio’s meetings with Gulf leaders this week.

There was no immediate comment from Iranian officials, who have asserted a right to charge ships for passage through the critical waterway.

Kpler, a maritime data firm, said Wednesday that 31 ships had passed through the critical waterway a day earlier, still far below the prewar norm of about 130 per day.

Information for this article was contributed by Mari Yamaguchi, Jon Gambrell, Julia Frankel, Matthew Lee and Munir Ahmed of The Associated Press; and by John Yoon and Euan Ward of The New York Times.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah share a word on the occasion of their meeting at Bayan Palace during Rubio’s visit to the Middle East to discuss the interim deal between the U.S. and Iran with Arab Gulf allies, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Eric Lee/Pool Photo via AP)Hanan Qubaisi inspects her house destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a news conference at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima pferfecture, Japan Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)Residents drive past buildings destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)