Rafael Grossi urged Iran to restore cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog as the United States and European allies pushed for an IAEA board resolution demanding answers about bombed nuclear sites and enriched uranium.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi urged Iran on Monday to restore cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and allow inspections to resume at nuclear sites struck by the United States and Israel a year ago.
Grossi’s appeal came as the United States, backed by Britain, France and Germany, pressed the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors to adopt a resolution demanding that Iran provide information about the damaged sites and nuclear material that had been stored there.
Iran has not told the IAEA what happened at the bombed facilities or accounted for nuclear material at those locations, including uranium enriched close to bomb-grade levels. While the U.S. and Israeli strikes destroyed or heavily damaged uranium-enrichment facilities, much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is believed to have survived, including material enriched up to 60%. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched to roughly 90%.
“It’s very important that we re-engage,” Grossi told the board on the first day of its quarterly meeting.
In a written statement to the board, Grossi said Iran must work with the agency to restore safeguards, the IAEA term that includes inspections and verification measures.
“I call on Iran to engage the Agency constructively in order to facilitate the full and effective implementation of safeguards in Iran,” Grossi said.
The IAEA has carried out some inspections at Iranian sites that were not bombed. However, the agency halted those activities in February on safety grounds after renewed military strikes. Since then, inspectors have only visited Iran’s operating power plant at Bushehr.
Grossi said communication with Tehran has largely broken down.
“I have sporadic contacts with the foreign minister and others, but basically the channel of communication is broken,” Grossi told reporters after addressing the board.
The draft resolution being advanced by the United States and formally supported by Britain, France and Germany would order Iran to provide “precise information” on the bombed nuclear sites and enriched uranium “without delay.” Diplomats said the measure is expected to pass by a clear margin, similar to a board resolution approved in November.
The move could complicate U.S.-Iran talks aimed at extending a ceasefire and laying the groundwork for broader negotiations, including over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has previously reacted angrily to IAEA board resolutions, often responding by expanding nuclear activity or reducing cooperation with the agency.
Iran’s mission to the IAEA criticized the draft resolution on X, saying responsibility for the attacks belongs to those who carried them out.
“Responsibility for an internationally wrongful act rests with the perpetrator and cannot be transferred to the victim. The Board must not be instrumentalized to relieve those who carried out these attacks of their responsibility,” Iran’s mission said.
The mission warned that confrontation could damage diplomacy.
“The Board should be cautious on the path forward. Coercion and confrontation do not lead to cooperation. It undermines prospects of a diplomatic solution,” it added.
The nuclear dispute unfolded as Israel and Iran exchanged strikes late Sunday and Monday, further straining diplomatic efforts. President Donald Trump demanded that both sides “immediately stop ‘shooting.’”
Speaking to the Financial Times on Sunday after Iran fired missiles at Israel, Trump said the latest military exchange would not derail negotiations.
“It’s not going to have any impact on the deal [with Iran],” Trump said.
The IAEA’s demand for renewed access now places Iran under additional pressure at a sensitive moment. Grossi is seeking to reestablish the agency’s ability to verify Iran’s nuclear activity, while Tehran is resisting a board resolution it views as shifting blame away from the U.S. and Israel for strikes on its facilities.
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