The U.N. atomic watchdog's board has demanding that Iran fully cooperate with the agency and provide complete information about its nuclear material.
Next photo FILE - The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency flies during a special session of an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 2, 2026.
Rafael Grossi, one of the four candidates for the next UN Secretary-General, attends an event"The Leader the UN Needs: Choosing the Next Secretary-General", in London, Thursday, May 28, 2026. FILE - The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency flies during a special session of an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 2, 2026.
– The U.N. atomic watchdog's board on Wednesday demanded that Iran fully cooperate with the agency, provide complete information about its stockpile of near weapons-grade nuclear material and grant its inspectors access to Iranian nuclear sites. A resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's board also said that giving information and access are “essential and urgent” in order to enable verification that there's no “diversion of nuclear material.
”Twenty-one countries on the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors voted for the resolution at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 10 countries abstained and one didn't vote as it was in arrears.
A senior Western diplomat, who wasn't authorized to speak about the sensitive matter so requested anonymity, said that the resolution “aims to keep diplomatic pressure on Iran to come into compliance with its legal safeguards obligations. ” The resolution comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, with the U.S. having launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran, and Tehran firing back at countries in the region.
The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts toto nuclear sites that were affected by the strikes — even though Tehran is legally obliged to cooperate with the watchdog under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The agency also has been unable to verify the status of the stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the June bombing.
, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned in aIran says that it's not pursuing nuclear weapons, and its program is entirely peaceful.
Talking to reporters outside the IAEA boardroom, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, denounced Wednesday’s resolution and said that the document describes the situation in Iran “as being quite normal and as if nothing had happened. ” He said that “under the current unprecedented security environment created by the attacks and continued threats by the aggressors, the legal, technical, and operational foundations for the normal implementation of safeguards in Iran have been destroyed.
” Najafi also said that Iran had granted the IAEA access to “all unaffected facilities,” saying that the resolution “neglects all Iran’s cooperation with the agency, even under war conditions. ” The resolution also “deeply regrets” Iran’s “failure to remedy” its noncompliance with its nonproliferation obligations over the past 12 months. The IAEA boardwith its safeguards agreement last June for the first time in 20 years – right before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran’s nuclear sites.
Central to this issue is a long-running investigation by the U.N. nuclear watchdog into uranium traces detected by inspectors at various undeclared sites in Iran. Iran has failed to provide the agency with “technically credible answers” regarding the origin and current location of this nuclear material since 2019. Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide further evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.
The resolution on Wednesday leaves that door open, however, stating that the IAEA board “will stand ready to take further action,” including by addressing the “timing and content” of a formal noncompliance report by the IAEA for consideration by the U.N. Security Council. The Associated Press receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content.
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