IAEA Chief Reports No Reconstruction Activity at Bombed Iranian Nuclear Facilities
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency had observed no rebuilding at the Iranian nuclear facilities damaged by strikes, while inspection access remained restricted. Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Grossi reported that facilities damaged in American and Israeli military strikes showed no physical repair efforts. The nuclear watchdog chief urged Iranian authorities to grant international inspectors unfettered access to all domestic atomic sites. Grossi noted that agency inspectors have remained unable to verify the status of enriched uranium stockpiles since military bombardments occurred last year. United States President Donald Trump previously argued that launching hostilities on February 28 was required to prevent Tehran from constructing atomic weapons. The American administration previously contended that airstrikes carried out in June 2025 had dismantled the country's uranium processing infrastructure. Former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had echoed similar findings in written congressional testimony regarding Iranian enrichment capabilities.
The international agency reported that Iran holds 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to sixty percent purity levels. This material inventory sits a narrow technical step below the ninety percent concentration required for nuclear weapons manufacturing. The special council session was convened by Bahrain, Denmark, Latvia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Diplomatic representatives from Russia and China attempted unsuccessfully to halt the convening of the multilateral meeting. Under Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty provisions, Iran remains legally bound to declare nuclear materials and permit verification against military diversion. Iranian deputy ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi denounced the military strikes as unlawful aggression while condemning civilian casualties resulting from foreign bombardments. Darzi challenged the diplomatic focus on Tehran by asserting that regional counterparts maintain undeclared nuclear arsenals without international inspection regimes.
IAEA inspectors are currently conducting verification activities at the Bushehr nuclear power plant to verify spent nuclear fuel ahead of transfer to a dry storage facility early next year, according to WANA News.
The IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution referring Iran to the Security Council over nuclear non-compliance, with China, Russia, and Niger voting against the resolution, according to The Diplomatic Insight.
United States Ambassador Mike Waltz demanded that Iranian diplomats provide factual explanations regarding noncompliance with international safeguard agreements. Waltz reiterated that the nuclear agency requires unambiguous disclosures concerning unaccounted fissionable materials across declared facilities. Grossi said the agency could not fully verify Iran’s nuclear material inventory without restored safeguards access. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that preventive military measures were necessary before regional hostilities broadened further. American foreign policy officials contended that ballistic missile stockpiles were constructed to shield atomic research programs from conventional intervention. The agency called for access to nuclear facilities and fuller information on Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium. Grossi said restricted inspector access left the agency unable to complete verification of nuclear material at several Iranian sites. The White House declined to issue immediate public commentary regarding the inspection findings presented to the Security Council.
On September 9, 2025, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi signed the Cairo Agreement with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, supported by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, establishing practical measures for implementing safeguards following attacks on monitored nuclear facilities, according to WANA News.