UN nuclear watchdog chief welcomes Iran-US peace deal, says technical work starts now

The International Atomic Energy Agency welcomed an interim peace deal between the US and Iran, stating it will now engage in technical discussions to implement the 14-point agreement.

‌The United ​Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday welcomed the interim peace deal signed by Washington and Iran, ‌saying it would now be involved in technical discussions to implement the agreement. "It is good that the memorandum is there. Now the technical work ‌starts," Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, ‌told reporters in Geneva.

"Now it is for us to sit down with our American and Iranian colleagues and start formulating concrete steps that will have to be ⁠taken." The ​14-point agreement signed ⁠on Wednesday evening extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days, including ⁠in Lebanon, to allow the two sides to negotiate a final truce.

Both ​Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have digitally signed the memorandum ⁠in English and Farsi, U.S. and Iran officials said, with Iran's foreign ministry saying ⁠the agreement ​was already in effect as of Wednesday. The United States and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28. It ⁠quickly became a regional conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people, mostly ⁠in Iran ⁠and Lebanon, driven up energy prices, renewed inflationary pressures and caused concerns about a food supply crisis in ‌developing countries.