Iran Tells UN Nuclear Watchdog Inspections Cannot Resume Amid US Threats

Iran told the UN nuclear watchdog this month that discussions on nuclear monitoring cannot proceed while it is under threat from military attacks.

According to a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, circulated to member states on Friday and seen by The Associated Press, Iran insisted discussions on resuming inspections in the country cannot resume amid "a series of persistent, explicit, and public threats by the President of the United States of America … to commit further acts of armed aggression" against Iran "particularly targeting its nuclear facilities."

Iran said the situation won't resolve "until the root causes of the present situation are addressed and the essential requirements for normal safeguards implementation are restored," the report added. Iran hasn't given IAEA inspectors access to nuclear sites that were affected by Israeli and US strikes during the 12-day war in June 2025. The IAEA also has been unable to verify the status of Iran's stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the June bombing.

Iran nevertheless reaffirmed its "firm commitment to resume full implementation of its safeguards obligations as soon as the relevant legal and actual conditions permit it."

The UN nuclear watchdog said the lack of information about Iran's atomic sites and nuclear material is "a matter of proliferation concern" that "needs to be rectified with the utmost urgency." The IAEA noted that it is "fully prepared to resume its safeguards activities in Iran at short notice."

Iran also expressed concern in a letter to the IAEA about a recent US offer of a reward of up to USD 20 million in exchange for information on Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran stressed the importance of maintaining the "confidentiality" of the IAEA's activities and the need to ensure that information on Iran's nuclear programme is not "disclosed, misused or exploited." The IAEA encouraged Iran to "consider technical and gradual measures" to allow for a return of inspectors to Iran.

The only facility inspected in Iran by the IAEA since last June is the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Inspectors conducted an inspection there on September 12-15. The reactor currently running at Bushehr uses uranium from Russia enriched to 4.5 per cent, a low level needed for power generation in such plants.

Concern about nuclear sites never inspected before

The IAEA also expressed "increasing concern" in its report about the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant. Iran first informed the UN nuclear watchdog about the facility last June before the start of joint US-Israeli airstrikes.

Inspectors were due to visit the site on the day the strikes began but had to cancel. The IAEA said in its report that it "does not know" the site's "exact location or whether it contains nuclear material."

Israel and the US launched a 12-day war against Iran last June, carrying out heavy airstrikes on its nuclear sites, leaving much of Iran's nuclear programme in ruins even as the full extent of the damage remains unclear.

The US and Israel launched further military strikes against Iran on February 28 with attacks that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials. The strikes targeted Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defence systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.

According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity -- a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponise its programme, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned in an interview with the AP last year. He added that it doesn't mean that Iran has such a weapon.

Such highly enriched nuclear material should normally be verified every month, according to the IAEA's guidelines. Iran has long insisted its programme is peaceful, but the IAEA and Western nations say Tehran had an organised nuclear weapons program up until 2003.