World

IAEA Urges Iran to Reopen Nuclear Sites for Inspection Amid Security Concerns

By AFP , AP and Reuters

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged Iran to allow inspectors to resume access to its nuclear facilities. In a report circulated among member states on Friday, the IAEA said that Tehran has informed the agency that it cannot permit inspections under the current security situation. The agency described the lack of information about Iran’s atomic sites and nuclear material as a proliferation concern that must be rectified urgently.

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, Iran has allowed only very limited IAEA inspections. The IAEA noted that it is fully prepared to resume safeguards activities in Iran at short notice. The report expressed particular concern about an underground uranium‑enrichment plant near Isfahan in central Iran. Tehran declared the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant in 2025 but has not permitted IAEA access. Inspectors do not know the plant’s precise location, whether it holds nuclear material, or its status under international monitoring rules, and the report did not establish that uranium enrichment is taking place there.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi urged Iran to consider limited technical measures that could enable inspection visits and restore routine monitoring. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a news conference in Tehran on Monday that Iran remains committed to the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty but blamed U.S. and Israeli attacks for limiting cooperation with the IAEA.

The watchdog noted that since the bombing of the nuclear facilities last year, it has been unable to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile of near‑weapons‑grade uranium. The IAEA withdrew its inspectors for safety reasons, and Iran later passed a law suspending cooperation with it. Without direct access to sites such as Isfahan, the agency cannot independently establish what is happening at those facilities.

The report also stated that Iran told the IAEA this month that discussion on resuming inspections cannot proceed amid “persistent, explicit, and public threats by the President of the United States of America … to commit further acts of armed aggression.” Iran said the issue would not be resolved “until the root causes of the present situation are addressed and the essential requirements for normal safeguards implementation are restored.”