WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The UN's nuclear watchdog still cannot confirm that none of Iran's safeguarded nuclear material has been diverted, its chief told the Security Council on Tuesday - more than a year after Israeli and US military strikes cut off inspectors' access.
'This can and must be rectified,' said IAEA Director Genera Rafael Grossi, adding, 'We know from our past work with Iran that constructive engagement is possible.'
Inspectors have not been able to return to the sites hit by Israeli airstrikes in June 2025 and joint Israeli and US attacks in early 2026.
The UN agency has seen no sign of work to repair or rebuild them, Grossi said, and noted that satellite monitoring is no substitute for access on the ground.
The one exception is the Bushehr nuclear power plant, where inspectors are currently at work.
Iran's atomic energy agency has cooperated in delivering the safeguards equipment needed to verify spent fuel there before it is moved to dry storage, expected early next year, Grossi said.
Normal inspections have not resumed, and Iran has not provided the information and access needed to verify previously declared nuclear material at its safeguarded facilities - both those hit in the attacks and those that were not - the IAEA chief said.
Of particular concern is Iran's declared stock of 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. The agency is also seeking access to the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant, which Iran declared just before the June 2025 strikes.
'Only diplomacy, underpinned by IAEA verification, can prevent nuclear proliferation in the long term,' Grossi said.
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