IAEA Chief Urges Iran to Restore Nuclear Site Access

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi urged Iran to immediately restore access to key nuclear facilities during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. He called for the access and information needed to verify Iran's nuclear materials after military strikes disrupted inspections and left the status of its uranium stockpile uncertain.

The IAEA has been unable to inspect key Iranian nuclear facilities since Israel and the United States launched a 12-day conflict in June 2025 that included attacks on nuclear sites. Facilities were also struck during a subsequent war that began on February 28, prompting repeated calls from the agency for renewed access.

Grossi said Iran must cooperate with the agency to resolve outstanding questions about its nuclear activities and comply with its international obligations.

"I invite Iran to work with the IAEA without any further delay to clarify outstanding safeguards questions and to give the IAEA the information and access the agency requires, so that it can verify all relevant facilities and material, as is Iran's legal obligation," Grossi said.

The Security Council meeting followed an International Atomic Energy Agency board resolution passed last month that referred Iran to the United Nations' highest security body over nuclear reporting noncompliance. The resolution was submitted by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, marking the first such referral in 20 years over Iran's failure to meet its nuclear reporting obligations.

The measure is widely viewed as largely symbolic because China and Russia can veto sanctions against Tehran. Both countries, along with Niger, voted against the IAEA resolution.

Iran's representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticized the Security Council for what he described as its failure to address the US-Israeli strikes against his country. He argued that the proceedings applied different standards to the parties involved.

"Today's meeting is an illustration of an established double standard in which the aggressor is shielded with impunity, the victim is placed under criticism, and the language of non-proliferation is cynically appropriated to advance geopolitical objectives," Iravani said.

Before the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA estimated that Iran possessed approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, according to the agency's calculations. That enrichment level was substantially above the 3.67 percent limit established under the 2015 nuclear agreement, which is no longer in effect, and approached the 90 percent level associated with weapons-grade uranium.

The whereabouts and condition of the stockpile have remained uncertain since the June 2025 attacks, leaving inspectors without the access needed to verify the material's status.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened renewed military strikes against Iran, potentially after the midterm elections scheduled for the following week. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, he framed his options as reaching an agreement with Tehran or escalating military action.

"Do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off? That's my -- it's the only question. Do I make a deal, or do I finish them off?" Trump said.