US offers Iran UN inspections of struck nuclear sites in exchange for frozen funds

WASHINGTON, United States — GENEVA — The United States has presented Iran with a new proposal under which UN inspectors would visit Iranian nuclear facilities damaged in US and Israeli airstrikes, according to two regional sources briefed on the talks. The offer was made during the first round of negotiations held in Switzerland, with Washington seeking the inspections as a condition for releasing frozen Iranian funds. The most recent similar inspection took place in June 2025, before the war. In return, the United States has signaled readiness to give Iran access to frozen assets, beginning with the unfreezing of a $6 billion account held in Qatar that would be used by Iranians to purchase humanitarian goods. A diplomatic source said US and Iranian delegations held a three-way meeting with Qatari mediators in the Swiss town of Bürgenstock. An Iranian source told the Fars news agency that the nuclear file was not on the agenda of the current negotiation round and that no member of Iran's nuclear committee was part of the delegation in Switzerland. The source said the nuclear issue would be addressed only after implementation of articles one, four, ten and eleven of a memorandum of understanding signed between Tehran and Washington. Iranian state television also reported that the negotiating team would not meet International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi. Separately, Grossi said he met Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Bürgenstock to discuss recent developments regarding Iran and the IAEA's role.