NEW YORK: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi urged Iran on Tuesday to provide information and inspection access to verify its previously declared 440kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Grossi said Tehran had not supplied the information needed to establish the material’s current status.
Iran previously declared uranium enriched to as much as 60% purity. However, inspectors cannot confirm the stockpile’s present quantity or location.
Grossi said the agency withdrew its inspectors from Iran by the end of June 2025 because of safety risks after military attacks.
Read: IAEA Iran Uranium Report Demands Inspection Access
Inspectors have been available to return for months, but normal verification activities have not resumed. Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant remains the exception, with IAEA inspectors conducting safeguards activities there.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation has cooperated on arrangements to verify spent fuel before its planned transfer to a new storage facility early next year.
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Grossi also urged Tehran to resolve outstanding safeguards questions, some of which have remained unanswered for more than five years.
On September 9, the IAEA Board of Governors referred Iran’s safeguards non-compliance to the Security Council. France has separately called for greater transparency over the uranium stockpile and compliance with international nuclear safeguards.
Read: US: Trump Says Iran Will Never Acquire Nuclear Weapons
Tuesday’s Council session opened with a procedural vote on its agenda. Eleven members supported holding the meeting. Russia and China opposed it, while Pakistan and Somalia abstained.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful and has cited security concerns following attacks on its facilities. Grossi said the agency needed access to the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant to determine whether nuclear material remained there.
