UN Nuclear Watchdog Moves Against Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has referred Iran to the UN Security Council for ‘non-compliance’ with its obligations under the non-proliferation treaty, but this marks the first such action in 20 years, the BBC reported.

Accusations of Non-Compliance

The IAEA board of governors passed a resolution in Vienna citing a lack of information from Iran regarding its nuclear material, particularly its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The resolution also highlighted the lack of access for IAEA inspectors to Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Tehran has condemned the IAEA’s decision, blaming US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities for disrupting inspections — the attacks, according to Iranian officials, have made it impossible to resume inspections at key sites.

New sanctions are unlikely, however, as Iran’s allies, China and Russia, hold veto powers in the Security Council; the resolution, tabled by the UK, France, Germany, and the US, was backed by 23 countries, with eight abstentions. China, Russia, and Niger voted against the resolution.

The document asks IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to report Iran to the Security Council; Iran had previously warned the IAEA against taking such a step.

‘They attack Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities, disrupt the normal process of verification, and then use that very disruption as a pretext to issue a resolution,’ Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X.

Ongoing Conflict and Nuclear Status

The IAEA has not had access to Iran’s nuclear facilities since Israel and the US carried out a number of strikes on those sites during a 12-day conflict in June 2025. The sites were targeted again in the latest war, launched by Israel and the US on 28 February.

Iran argues that the attacks on its facilities, including uranium enrichment plants in Natanz and Fordo, are the reason it does not allow IAEA inspectors to visit these sites. Tehran also wants such access to be part of a broader settlement with the US and Israel to end the war.

Iran has consistently stated that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes — However, the US, Israel, and several European countries have raised concerns that Tehran may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

At the start of the latest US-Israel war against Iran, Tehran had approximately 440kg (970lb) of 60% enriched uranium, according to senior US officials; this material can be fairly quickly enriched to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade uranium.