US, Iran spar over nuclear checks as stranded ships poised to leave Gulf

US President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed to unlimited nuclear inspections, though Tehran denied this.

Excavators at the tunnel entrances of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, one week after US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites early on Jun 22, 2026. (Image: Maxar Technologies via AFP)

23 Jun 2026 05:37PM

(Updated: 24 Jun 2026 03:41AM)

DUBAI: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Jun 23) Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into "infinity", despite Tehran's denials, as the UN began efforts to evacuate hundreds of ships from the Gulf in a tentative return to calm after a fragile peace deal.The UN shipping agency said an evacuation plan to enable some 11,000 seafarers stuck aboard vessels in the Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively blocked during the war, was underway after the ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran."We have now started contacting the ships to start the evacuation," a spokesperson for the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said, without providing a timeframe, adding that the agency had secured "the necessary safety guarantees" and verified conditions for safe navigation.IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the "large-scale operation" would unfold in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, other coastal states, the US and the maritime industry.In another sign of de-escalation, Washington agreed to waive sanctions on Iran for 60 days from Monday after the first round of talks under the nascent peace deal agreed last week on ending more than three months of war. Trump also said unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to buy humanitarian supplies from the US.US Vice President JD Vance said the talks with Iranian officials in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock laid a good foundation for a final accord and that Tehran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into the country.Iran denied it had discussed its nuclear program at the talks, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, and said it had not agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back.