The UN’s nuclear watchdog board has voted to report Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in two decades, citing Tehran’s failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found by inspectors at sites not declared to the agency. IAEA Vote At ViennaThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors approved the resolution on Wednesday at IAEA headquarters in Vienna. Twenty-three of the 35 members voted in favour, with China, Russia and Niger opposing the move. Eight countries abstained and one did not vote because it was in arrears, according to diplomats familiar with the closed-door process. The resolution was tabled by the United States, Britain, France and Germany. It comes after the IAEA board formally found Iran in non-compliance in June 2025, saying the country had not cooperated with the investigation into uranium traces at undeclared locations. Move Raises Sanctions ProspectsReporting Iran to the Security Council could open the door to further UN measures, including sanctions and asset freezes. However, those steps are viewed as unlikely in the near term because Russia and China, both permanent Security Council members, have veto power. The resolution asked IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to refer the agency’s concerns to the Security Council and to the UN General Assembly, citing provisions of the IAEA statute. It also urged Iran to urgently remedy its non-compliance with previous agreements and to take steps the IAEA considers necessary to ensure “the non-diversion of nuclear material”. Western officials suspect the uranium traces could be linked to evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons programme until 2003. Iran denies any pursuit of nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear activity is peaceful. Iran Rejects The ResolutionIran’s ambassador to the UN in Vienna, Reza Najafi, rejected the board’s decision, calling it a “political tool” that undermined confidence in the IAEA’s “independence, impartiality and credibility”. Najafi said compliance with any requirement to allow UN inspections at nuclear sites inside Iran was “materially impossible” because of ongoing hostilities involving the United States and Israel. He also argued that Iran had not stopped or suspended its safeguards obligations, saying verification could not proceed “under continuing military operations and persistent threats”. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi echoed that line in a post on X, saying air strikes targeted safeguarded nuclear facilities, disrupted verification and were later used as a pretext to advance the resolution at the IAEA board. Inspection Barriers After StrikesSince Israel and the United States struck Iran’s nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June 2025, Iran has not provided IAEA inspectors access to sites affected by the attacks. The IAEA has also been unable to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to levels close to weapons-grade. The IAEA says Iran holds 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, which is a short technical step from 90% levels typically associated with weapons-grade material. Grossi warned in an interview last year that the quantity could enable Iran to build up to 10 nuclear bombs if it chose to weaponise the programme. He added that this assessment did not mean Iran has already produced such a weapon. Join the discussion? 10 September 2026
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