UN Watchdog 'Increasingly Concerned' Over Uninspected Iran Site
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned in a confidential report seen on Friday that it is "increasingly concerned" about an uninspected Iranian uranium-enrichment plant at Isfahan and cannot verify that Iran has not diverted nuclear material from peaceful uses, the BBC and The Times of Israel reported. Iran notified the agency of plans for the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant (IFEP) on June 12, 2025, one day before Israel began bombing Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day conflict that the US later joined, the BBC reported. "The agency does not know IFEP's exact location, status for safeguards purposes, or whether it contains nuclear material," the IAEA said, according to The Hindu.
Stockpile Uncertainty and Safeguards Deadlock
Since the June 2025 strikes and a newer war that began on February 28, Iran has restricted inspector access, leaving the agency unable to verify Iran's stockpile of roughly 440 to 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, well above the 3.67 percent limit in the 2015 nuclear deal, the BBC and The Hindu reported. The IAEA said it was "critical" to conduct verification "without further delay," urging Iran to take technical and gradual steps to allow inspectors back, while noting that its lack of access raised "serious proliferation concern" needing urgent resolution, The Hindu reported. In September, the IAEA board referred Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years over reporting failures, and inspectors were only able to visit the Bushehr nuclear plant that month, The Hindu and The Times of Israel noted. In September 2026, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution reporting Iran to the UN Security Council with 23 votes in favor, according to Arab News. The IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled to hold a meeting in Vienna, Austria from 18 to 20 November 2026, according to International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran's national security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Iran would not allow 'a single particle' of enriched nuclear material to leave the country. Satellite imagery as of May 17, 2026 showed no attempt to dig into the Isfahan tunnels, according to Institute for Science and International Security.
Tehran's Conditions and $20 Million US Reward
According to The Times of Israel, Iran told the IAEA that talks on resuming inspections cannot restart amid "persistent, explicit, and public threats by the President of the United States of America" to attack its nuclear facilities, though Tehran reaffirmed its commitment to resume safeguards once conditions permit. Iran also protested a US military offer of a reward of up to $20 million for information on its nuclear programme, urging the IAEA and UN Security Council to condemn it, The Times of Israel reported. In a Thursday letter, the IAEA assured Tehran it would protect all confidential information, The Times of Israel added.