The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for resolving the lack of access to Iran's nuclear sites with the "highest level of urgency." In a quarterly report seen by news agencies on Tuesday (local time), the UN nuclear watchdog stated: "The absence of information about this nuclear material and access to facilities for verification is a matter of concern regarding nuclear weapons proliferation."
The report specifically references the plant in Isfahan, which has been targeted by the United States and Israel multiple times over the past year. Iran has said that access to sites previously subjected to airstrikes must be arranged under special agreements.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stated on August 26 that the IAEA "cannot seek to inspect these centers until specific criteria and procedures for inspecting sites that have been subjected to military attacks are established."
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed "confidence that the long-standing issues and recurring crises surrounding these matters must be resolved through a long-term, verifiable diplomatic agreement."
Tehran suspended cooperation with the IAEA following US and Israeli strikes in June 2025, including attacks on nuclear sites. By September 2025, Iran announced it would allow IAEA inspectors to return, but access to previously bombed nuclear facilities has not yet been granted.
Despite US President Donald Trump's claims that Washington had destroyed the facilities and crippled Tehran's nuclear program, Iran's enriched uranium stockpile remains not fully inventoried. Tehran has repeatedly denied any military ambitions related to its nuclear program, asserting its right to use the technology for civilian purposes.
The IAEA has previously reported that Iran's uranium enrichment levels are far higher than civilian needs, though not yet at weapons-grade. The latest report will be discussed at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting scheduled for September 21–25.
