The agency’s director general insists on verifying the status of nuclear material at seven damaged facilities, as Western powers push for a new resolution against Tehran.
VIENNA — The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, called on the Iranian regime on Wednesday to grant full access to nuclear facilities damaged by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes last June.
Speaking from Vienna, Grossi emphasized that the agency has yet to receive authorization to inspect nuclear materials at no fewer than seven sites that were impacted, despite this being a requirement under the commitments Iran has made to the UN agency.
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog stressed that, under international standards, the body must corroborate what nuclear materials and devices remain at the affected plants.
“If a country informs us that something was destroyed, we must verify it,” Grossi told reporters in the Austrian capital. He recalled that several facilities, such as those at Natanz, Fordow, and the Isfahan research center, suffered partial damage and have not been inspected following the coordinated attack by Tel Aviv and Washington.
The operation was part of an escalation recorded in June, when Israeli forces, with U.S. support, bombed nuclear targets in Iran amid stalled diplomatic contacts and months of tension over the Persian country’s atomic program.
The Iranian Parliament responded by passing a law limiting collaboration with the IAEA, hindering verification and monitoring tasks. Since then, the agency has faced access restrictions, especially at the attacked facilities.
At the IAEA Board of Governors meeting this week, the European “troika” (France, the United Kingdom, and Germany), together with the United States, promoted a draft resolution demanding that Iran comply with the inspection program. The resolution requires detailed reports on uranium stockpiles, locations, quantities, chemical forms, enrichment levels, and centrifuge inventories.
The text also requests quarterly reports from Grossi on the progress of verifications and the situation on Iranian territory. Diplomatic sources in Vienna anticipate that the document will receive the backing of an overwhelming majority of the 35 member countries of the Board.
One of the critical points in the current controversy is the location and status of more than 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% that Iran stored before the attacks began. That purity level is close to what is required to develop nuclear weapons, although Tehran publicly rejects any weapons intent.
“We hope to maintain our commitment and that Iran also fulfills its part with the IAEA. This is essential for the international community,” Grossi insisted.
The Director General admitted that there have been advances in recent weeks but emphasized that none have yet allowed for the direct review of zones that suffered military impacts.
The situation unfolds while diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal remain stagnant. Following the U.S. withdrawal in 2018 under the administration of Donald Trump and the subsequent imposition of sanctions, Iran accelerated the development and storage of nuclear materials.
Following the security crisis, the E3 European countries reactivated sanctions on Tehran through the “snapback” mechanism, an instrument included in the original nuclear pact to reimpose penalties in case of non-compliance.
The position of the troika and Washington is that only complete and permanent supervision by the IAEA will ensure that the Iranian nuclear program pursues solely peaceful ends.
Diplomatic sources remarked that it is imperative to maintain international pressure and transparency regarding the fate of enriched uranium and recent technical developments in Iran. The draft resolution to be voted on by the Board requests that any further reduction in Iranian cooperation be notified immediately and that a permanent review of the situation be maintained.
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