Interim US-Iran peace accord grants nuclear inspectors access to Iran, IAEA chief says

TOKYO - The interim U.S.-Iran peace accord givesU.N. nuclear inspectors access to Iran, the watchdog's top official said on Friday, after Tehran indicated key sites would remain off-limits until a final deal with Washington was reached and sanctions lifted.

The U.S. and Iran last week signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for 60 days of talks to resolve thornier issues, including those related to Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday there were no plans to grant access to inspectors.

But International Atomic Energy Agency boss Rafael Grossi said on Friday that inspections had to happen.

"There is an agreement and to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect," he told a press conference in Japan. "We hope to be there soon."

U.N. inspectors have already held an initial exchange with Iranian officials to discuss technical issues, Grossi said. The first goal of any visit to Iran would be to check whether IAEA seals on previously inspected material remained intact and whether any material was missing, he said.

"Intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place," he said.

Iran has not informed the watchdog how much of its enriched uranium survived U.S. and Israeli attacks or where it is.

The IAEA estimates Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% before the conflict began. If enriched further, that would be enough for 10 nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick.

Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and David Dolan/Reuters