The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for international action against Iran over its failure to comply with nuclear safeguards and restrictions on inspections of its nuclear facilities.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog said Iran’s continued restrictions have made it increasingly difficult to monitor its nuclear activities and verify the location and status of nuclear materials and equipment.
The IAEA’s Board of Governors voted on Wednesday to refer Iran’s non-compliance to the UN Security Council. Russia, China and Niger voted against the move.
The decision follows a June 2025 resolution in which the IAEA declared Iran in violation of its nuclear safeguards obligations.
Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to strict limits on uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. The agreement also gave IAEA inspectors extensive access to Iranian nuclear facilities, including the use of cameras, sensors and regular inspections.
However, Iran’s cooperation with the agency began to deteriorate in 2019, following the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement in 2018.
The IAEA subsequently reported that Iran exceeded limits on its enriched uranium stockpile and resumed enrichment activities using advanced centrifuges.
In 2020, Iran restricted inspectors’ access to two locations suspected of being connected to nuclear activities. Tehran later reduced cooperation with enhanced monitoring measures and began enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity.
The situation worsened in 2021 when Iran disabled IAEA monitoring cameras at a centrifuge production facility. The agency also reported that its inspectors were subjected to what it described as excessively invasive searches.
In January 2023, the IAEA discovered uranium enriched to 83.7 per cent at the Fordow nuclear facility, a level close to weapons-grade enrichment of about 90 per cent. Iran has disputed the agency’s allegations and maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The monitoring situation has become even more difficult since the outbreak of the latest conflict involving Iran. According to the IAEA, inspectors have been unable to visit Iranian nuclear facilities apart from the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
The agency has warned that the prolonged lack of access has broken its “continuity of knowledge” regarding Iran’s uranium stocks, enrichment centrifuges and other nuclear materials.
This means the IAEA can no longer independently confirm the precise quantity, location or condition of some of Iran’s nuclear materials and equipment.
Experts say restoring effective monitoring could take considerable time and require significantly stronger inspection arrangements.
The UN Security Council will now determine whether Iran should face further international consequences over the alleged violations. However, any new measures could face resistance from Russia and China, both permanent members of the council with veto powers.
Iran has condemned the IAEA decision as politically motivated, arguing that the agency has never established that Tehran diverted nuclear material for weapons purposes.
The latest development has increased concerns among nuclear experts that restoring a diplomatic agreement alone may not be sufficient to guarantee that Iran will not eventually develop a nuclear weapon.
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