UN nuclear watchdog says hopes for inspections deal with Iran soon

Vienna: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Monday that he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Iran on a full resumption of inspections of its...

Vienna: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Monday that he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Iran on a full resumption of inspections of its sites in the "next few days", warning that "not much" time was left.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been in talks with Tehran on how to fully restart its inspections of key nuclear sites after Tehran suspended cooperation with the agency following attacks by Israel and the United States in June.

The inspectors left Iran after Israel launched its unprecedented attack on June 13, striking nuclear and military facilities, with Washington later joining in with strikes on key nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

In late August, an IAEA team briefly returned to Iran to oversee the replacement of fuel at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Addressing a quarterly board meeting, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement that "progress has been made" in talks on clinching a deal on the full resumption of inspections.