US, allies want IAEA board to report Iran to UN Security Council, diplomats say

The United States and its European allies are pushing for a new confrontation with Iran at the UN nuclear watchdog. Diplomats say Washington, Britain, France and Germany want the International Atomic Energy Agency's board to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years.

The proposed resolution would follow a measure adopted on June 12, 2025, which said Iran had breached its non-proliferation obligations by failing to cooperate fully with an investigation into uranium traces found at undeclared sites. The new resolution would mark the culmination of a dispute over the IAEA's access to Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iran has not allowed IAEA inspectors to return to sites damaged in the US air war and Israeli strikes, or to verify what remains of its enriched uranium. Some of Iran's uranium had been enriched to 60% purity, which is close to weapons grade. The IAEA considers the amount enriched to that level “a matter of serious concern.”

The agency believes that more than 200 kilograms of the highly enriched uranium survived the bombardments and is being held at a tunnel complex in Isfahan and at the Natanz facility. Iran, a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and would never build nuclear weapons.

The draft resolution has not yet been formally submitted. Diplomats said negotiations over its wording were continuing ahead of the IAEA board meeting. The 35-nation board has already passed two resolutions demanding that Iran declare its enriched uranium stocks and grant the agency full access.

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a matter of serious concern