UN Atomic Agency Chief Says Iran Has Not Repaired Damaged Nuclear Facilities

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Iran has not tried to repair or rebuild its nuclear sites damaged in U.S. and Israeli military strikes this year or last year.

IAEA Access Demands

Mr. Grossi urged Iran to give inspectors access to all nuclear sites, including those hit in the military attacks, noting the agency has not been able to check Iran's stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since U.S. bombings last year. He stated that the agency has found no repair work at any damaged facilities since June 2025. Iran maintains its program is peaceful, but the IAEA reports the country holds 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity.

Security Council Debate

Bahrain, Denmark, Latvia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States called the UN meeting after the IAEA referred Iran to the Security Council for failing to comply with nonproliferation rules. Russia and China tried to block the meeting. Iran's UN deputy ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi criticized the council for staying silent on U.S. and Israeli attacks, while U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz called Iran a brutal dictatorship and pressed for answers regarding its safeguard obligations.

Context

The International Atomic Energy Agency is the world's central intergovernmental hub for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field, working to check that nuclear materials are used only for peaceful purposes. Countries that sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agree to declare their nuclear activities and submit to regular international inspections.