IAEA refers Iran to UN Security Council over nuclear non-compliance
The UN's nuclear watchdog has referred Iran to the Security Council for the first time in 20 years, citing non-compliance with its non-proliferation obligations. Tehran condemned the move, blaming US and Israeli strikes for disrupting inspections.
The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has adopted a resolution in Vienna referring Iran to the UN Security Council over its failure to meet obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty — the first such referral in two decades.
The resolution points to insufficient information about Iran's nuclear material, including its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and to inspectors being denied access to nuclear sites.
Vote and sponsors
The measure was put forward by the UK, France, Germany and the United States, and was supported by 23 countries, with eight abstaining. China, Russia and Niger voted against it. The text calls on IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to report Iran's case to the Security Council. Iran had previously warned the agency repeatedly against adopting such a resolution.
Tehran's response
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi criticised the decision on social media, arguing that attacks on Iran's safeguarded facilities disrupted the verification process, which was then used as justification for the resolution.
The IAEA has been unable to access Iran's nuclear sites since Israel and the US struck them during a 12-day conflict in June 2025. The facilities, including uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo, were hit again in a further war launched by Israel and the US on 28 February. Iran says these attacks are the reason it will not allow inspectors back into the sites, and wants the access question addressed as part of a broader settlement with the US and Israel to end the conflict.
Iran maintains its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, a claim disputed by the US, Israel and several European countries. According to senior US officials, Iran held roughly 440kg of uranium enriched to 60% at the start of the latest war — material that can be enriched relatively quickly to the 90% level needed for a weapon. New sanctions remain unlikely for now, since Iran's allies China and Russia hold veto power on the Security Council.
