Grossi Warns of Serious Proliferation Risks Over Iran’s Nuclear Program

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has been unable to verify the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities or material, warning that the information gap poses a serious proliferation concern.

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The best, shortest way for a positive outcome is for Iran to engage with us.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Iran has provided neither information about its declared nuclear material and facilities nor access for field verification. As a result, the agency cannot carry out its safeguards responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agreement or verify the status of the material and facilities.

Grossi said the IAEA lost continuity of knowledge more than a year ago over Iran’s previously declared inventories of low-enriched uranium and uranium enriched to as much as 60% U-235. The facilities and inventories were affected by military attacks in June 2025. Since then, he said, the UN nuclear watchdog has been unable to establish what happened to them.

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There's no engagement.

At a press conference in Vienna, Grossi said Iran had still not explained the damage to its nuclear facilities or whether its nuclear inventory had changed after the attacks. He said the Cairo Agreement required Tehran to provide that information and explain why inspectors had been unable to gain access.

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We do not subscribe to this logic.

“The best, shortest way for a positive outcome is for Iran to engage with us,” Grossi said. He acknowledged that Iran has indicated it will not cooperate until a broader political agreement is reached, but rejected that position. Iran’s obligations under the NPT, he said, “do not disappear.” Grossi also said inspector safety was not an insurmountable obstacle and called for a return to diplomacy and negotiations.

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The situation regarding Iran’s nuclear program has implications for the global nonproliferation regime.