IAEA Chief Tells UN Council Iran Must Let Inspectors Return

New York (GNP): Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Tuesday that Iran must allow inspectors back into its nuclear facilities without delay. He warned that the agency still cannot say what happened to Tehran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium.

Grossi invited Iran to work with the agency to clarify outstanding safeguards questions and provide the access it needs. He described this as a legal obligation for Tehran.

The IAEA has not had access to key Iranian nuclear sites since June 2025, when Israel, joined by the US, launched a 12-day conflict that included strikes on nuclear facilities. Other sites were hit in the war that began on February 28, and the agency has repeatedly asked for access to those as well.

Grossi said inspectors have not identified any activity to repair or rebuild the facilities damaged in the 2025 and 2026 attacks. Without access, however, the agency cannot confirm the status of the nuclear material itself.

That uncertainty centres on uranium enriched to 60 per cent. Before the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA calculated that Iran held roughly 440 kilograms of it. In March, Grossi reported that Iran kept a significant stockpile but that there was no evidence of a structured programme to build a weapon.

The briefing followed a recent escalation. Last month, the IAEA board passed a resolution referring Iran to the Security Council over its nuclear “non-compliance”. China and Russia, which can veto any sanctions, voted against it alongside Niger, so the move is widely seen as largely symbolic.

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Iran’s response came from its Deputy UN Ambassador, Gholamhossein Darzi. He accused the Council of staying silent after the US-Israeli attacks and denounced what he called “wars of aggression against Iran”.

Darzi also pointed to Israel’s reported nuclear arsenal, which Israel has never confirmed. He did not address the IAEA’s unanswered questions, and he said the meeting showed a double standard in which the aggressor is shielded and the victim is criticised.

Grossi had made a similar appeal days earlier. On Friday, he called for a swift return of inspectors and warned that the global non-proliferation regime depends on dialogue. With the Council divided, the whereabouts of Iran’s enriched uranium remain unconfirmed.