Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi arrives for an IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5. EPA-Yonhap
VIENNA — The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the agency stands ready to verify any nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran, stressing that monitoring and verification would be central to its role if such a deal is reached.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (U.S. time) that a peace agreement with Iran was in "pretty final shape" and could be signed in Europe within the week, adding that he understood Iran's top leader had approved the deal.
"The most important thing about the agency is verification, and the fact that we are going to be part of the resolution is a very important formality that needs to be there," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said during a meeting with reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the agency for journalists from global news outlets, including Yonhap News Agency.
"When they agree on something and they ask us to do the verification, I have to go to my board ... to ask them for permission to do that," he added.
