UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi, allegedly said on September 25 he has information that the United States, under a potential Kamala Harris administration, would be ready to return to an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has several issues with the current Iranian government, including Tehran's barring of uranium-enrichment experts on the inspection team and its failure for years to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites. However, with the election of President Masoud Pezeshkian in July, a shift from Tehran in dealing with international agency is now on the cards.

"I don't know about a possible Republican administration, they will say themselves if and when this happens. But as for the Harris administration, we are in contact and know that they want to return to some kind of agreement," Grossi said, speaking at Princeton University's Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)., Tass reported.

This comes after Pezeshkian stated that Iran does not seek to create nuclear weapons and is ready to fully return to its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Pezeshkian expressed Iran’s desire for an easing of US sanctions that have severely hit the country’s economy, reiterating Tehran’s readiness to re-engage in talks on its nuclear programme on September 24.

The UN official is expected to fly to Tehran in the coming weeks for further talks but is unlikely to get into direct negotiations with the Iranians unless Iran allows all nuclear inspectors inside its several nuclear sites.

The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran and international mediators including the UK, Germany, China, Russia, the US and France.

The agreement ended a crisis that began in 2004 when Western countries accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons and imposed sanctions. As

Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. Current President Joe Biden has repeatedly signalled willingness to return Washington to the nuclear deal but after several closed door direct dealings no deal has yet been found.

Russia, Britain, Germany, China, the US and France have been negotiating with Iran since April 2021 to restore the JCPOA to its original form.

On November 10, 2022, Grossi said that another round of talks in Vienna ended without result.

Grossi's comments come ahead of the US presidential election in November, where Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as a potential Democratic nominee if Biden does not run for re-election.