International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has renewed calls for Iran to grant immediate access to its nuclear facilities, urging Tehran to cooperate fully with international inspectors so the agency can verify the status of nuclear materials and address outstanding safeguards concerns.

Addressing a United Nations Security Council meeting, Grossi stressed that Iran must provide the IAEA with the information and access required to inspect all relevant facilities and nuclear material. He underlined that such cooperation is a legal obligation under Iran’s commitments to the nuclear watchdog.

The Security Council session came after the IAEA Board of Governors approved a resolution last month referring Iran’s nuclear non-compliance to the UN’s most powerful body. The measure, put forward by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, marks the first time in two decades that Iran has been referred to the Security Council for failing to meet its nuclear reporting obligations.

The IAEA has been unable to access several key Iranian nuclear sites since the outbreak of a 12-day conflict in June 2025, when Israel, supported by the United States, conducted strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Nuclear installations were also affected during the more recent conflict that began on 28 February, further complicating international monitoring efforts.

“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 Security Council.

The referral is widely viewed as carrying more political than practical weight because any attempt to impose new UN sanctions would face significant hurdles. China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council and close partners of Tehran, hold veto powers and are broadly expected to block punitive measures. Both countries, along with Niger, opposed the original IAEA resolution.

Iran strongly rejected the criticism during the Security Council meeting. The country's UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused the international community of applying double standards and criticised what he described as a lack of condemnation over Israeli and US military action against Iran.

“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,” Iravani said.

Before the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA estimated that Iran possessed roughly 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity. While still below the approximately 90 per cent enrichment level generally associated with weapons-grade material, the stockpile significantly exceeded the 3.67 per cent cap established under the 2015 nuclear agreement, which has since effectively collapsed.

Since the attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, uncertainty has continued to surround the location and condition of that enriched uranium stockpile. The lack of inspector access has prevented the IAEA from independently verifying the status of the material, increasing international concerns over transparency and nuclear oversight.

The dispute comes amid continuing tensions between Tehran and Washington. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly signalled that military action remains an option if diplomatic efforts fail, including 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?” Trump said during a Fox News interview on Sunday.

The renewed diplomatic confrontation highlights growing international concern over Iran’s nuclear activities and the future of global non-proliferation efforts, with the IAEA maintaining that full access and transparency remain essential to establishing the status of the country's nuclear program.

Agencies