The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, on Tuesday urged Iran to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) immediate access to verify the Islamic republic’s nuclear materials, addressing a UN Security Council meeting convened after Iran was referred to the top UN body over nuclear “non-compliance.”
The IAEA has had no access to Iran’s key nuclear facilities since Israel, joined by the United States, launched a 12-day conflict in June 2025 that included strikes on nuclear sites. Those facilities have also been hit in the latest war, which erupted on February 28, and the UN agency has repeatedly demanded access.
“I invite Iran to work with the IAEA without any further delay to clarify outstanding safeguards questions and to give the IAEA the information and access the agency requires, so that it can verify all relevant facilities and material, as is Iran’s legal obligation,” Grossi told the council.
Tuesday’s meeting followed a resolution passed by the IAEA board last month referring Iran to the Security Council. The resolution, submitted by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, marks the first time in 20 years that Iran has been sent to the Security Council for failing to comply with its nuclear reporting obligations.
The move is seen as largely symbolic, however, as China and Russia hold veto power over any sanctions against their ally Tehran. Both countries, along with Niger, voted against the IAEA resolution.
Iran’s UN representative, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticised the Security Council’s “silence” over the US-Israeli strikes on his country. “Today’s meeting is an illustration of an established double standard in which the aggressor is shielded with impunity, the victim is placed under criticism, and the language of non-proliferation is cynically appropriated to advance geopolitical objectives,” he said.
Before the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA estimated that Iran held roughly 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent — close to the 90 percent level needed to make a nuclear bomb and far above the 3.67 percent limit set by a now-defunct 2015 agreement. The fate of that stockpile has remained uncertain since June 2025.
Tensions could escalate further, as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to renew strikes against Iran, possibly after next week’s midterm elections. “Do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off? That’s my — it’s the only question. Do I make a deal, or do I finish them off?” he said in a Fox News interview on Sunday.
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/un-nuclear-watchdog-chief-urges-iran-to-grant-access-12245792#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-10-28 04:08:00
