NEW YORK, August 28. /TASS/. The return of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to Iran signals certain progress on the path of normalizing relation with Tehran, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.

"Today, inspectors are back in Iran. When the attacks began and in the aftermath of that there were many voices in Iran advocating the end of any cooperation with the agency, and there were voices in the world arguing that perhaps the IAEA would never go back. I hope we will be able to get an agreement soon. The fact that the inspectors are back is an early indication that there is progress in that direction," he said in an interview with Associated Press.

"I can say that it is important that the inspectors are back. At the same time, we still need to clarify a number of things, and we still need to address all the issues that are important in terms of the inspections that we have to carry out in Iran," he added.

In the early morning hours of June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, Iran retaliated. Nine days later, on the morning of June 22, US jets attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities, entering the conflict. The following evening, Tehran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid, the largest US military airbase in the region, located in Qatar. According to the US authorities, there were no casualties or significant damage. Later, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire, which went into effect on June 24.

The agency did not condemn the US and Israeli attack, which infuriated Iran. It accused the IAEA of political bias and on July 2, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA.

However, the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on August 27 that IAEA inspectors will oversee the fuel replacement process at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Earlier, Laurence Norman, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, said that Iran may soon grant permission for IAEA inspectors to visit nuclear sites unaffected by the attacks.