IAEA board refers Iran to UN Security Council

The International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors voted Wednesday to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over what a resolution called Tehran's nuclear non-compliance.

Two diplomats told AFP the resolution was adopted by 23 votes in favour, three against and eight abstentions. Russia, China and Niger voted against it.

The text, submitted by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, requests the IAEA director general to report Iran to the Security Council and the UN General Assembly. It marks the first time Iran has been referred to the Security Council in 20 years for failing to comply with nuclear reporting obligations.

Iran condemned the resolution. Reza Najafi, Iran's representative to the IAEA, told state television that it was passed under political pressure from the United States and its allies and had no basis. He also told AFP it was “completely counterproductive”.

The IAEA has not had access to key nuclear facilities in Iran since Israel, joined by the United States, launched a 12-day conflict in June 2025 that included strikes on nuclear sites. Nuclear facilities have also been hit in the latest war, which erupted on February 28, and the IAEA has repeatedly urged Iran to give it access.

The resolution says there is “grave concern” over Iran's continued non-compliance and calls on Tehran to remedy it urgently. It also calls on Iran to engage without preconditions in talks aimed at building international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.

IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said Monday that access to key nuclear facilities in Iran would have “positive repercussions” for Tehran.

Before the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA calculated that Iran had about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. That is close to the 90 percent needed to make a bomb and above the 3.67 percent limit set by the now-defunct 2015 nuclear agreement. The fate of that stockpile has remained uncertain since June 2025.

Israel and the United States have long accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran has repeatedly denied having military nuclear ambitions and says it has a right to nuclear technology for civilian purposes.

Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group told AFP that some see the resolution as a way to add legal pressure on Iran, but said it was likely to be an “exercise in futility” because Russia and China were likely to block Western pressure at the Security Council.