Iran nuclear access urged by UN watchdog chief

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi urged Iran at a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday to grant immediate access so the agency can verify the country's nuclear facilities and material.

Grossi said Iran should work with the IAEA “without any further delay” to clarify outstanding safeguards questions and provide the information and access required by the agency. He said this was Iran's legal obligation.

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

The Security Council meeting followed an IAEA board resolution last month that referred Iran to the council over what the resolution called nuclear “non-compliance.” The resolution was submitted by Britain, France, Germany and the United States. China, Russia and Niger voted against it.

Iran's UN representative, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticised the Security Council's “silence” over US-Israeli strikes against Iran and said the meeting reflected a double standard.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to renew strikes against Iran, possibly after the midterm elections next week.