Iran referred to UN Security Council for nuclear non-compliance

The UN atomic watchdog has referred Iran to the Security Council for non‑compliance with its obligations under the non‑proliferation treaty, marking the first such determination in 20 years. The IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution at a meeting in Vienna. It cites a lack of information on Iran’s nuclear material, including its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and a lack of access to nuclear facilities for IAEA inspectors. Tehran condemned the IAEA decision, blaming US and Israeli strikes on its atomic facilities for disrupting inspections. “They onslaught Iran's safeguarded atomic facilities, disrupt the mean process of verification, and past usage that precise disruption as a pretext to contented a resolution,” Iranian lawman Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote in a station connected X. New sanctions are nevertheless unlikely because Iran's allies China and Russia hold veto power on the Council. The IAEA resolution — tabled by the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States — was supported by 23 members, with eight abstentions; China, Russia and Niger voted against. The document calls on IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to report Iran to the Security Council. Iran had repeatedly warned the IAEA against adopting such a resolution. The IAEA has not been granted access to Iran’s nuclear sites since Israel and the United States carried out a series of strikes on those locations during a 12‑day conflict in June 2025. The sites were struck again in the latest war, which Israel and the United States launched on 28 February. Iran says the attacks on its facilities, including the uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo, are the reason it does not allow IAEA inspectors to visit those locations. Tehran also wants such access to be part of a broader arrangement with the United States and Israel to end the war. Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes. The United States, Israel and several European countries have disputed that claim, arguing that Tehran may be seeking to develop a nuclear weapon. At the outset of the most recent US‑Israel campaign against Iran, Tehran possessed roughly 440 kg (970 lb) of 60 % enriched uranium, according to senior US officials. That material could be enriched relatively quickly to the 90 % level required for weapons‑grade uranium.