IAEA Warns of Urgent Proliferation Concerns as Western Powers Push for UN Security Council Referral on Iran

France, Germany, the UK and the US are pressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report Iran to the UN Security Council. This push comes as the nuclear watchdog warns it remains unable to verify Tehran’s nuclear material more than a year after losing access to key facilities.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the agency’s Board of Governors on Monday that Tehran had provided no information during the latest reporting period regarding the status of its declared nuclear material or facilities, leaving inspectors unable to conduct on-site verification.

“It is more than a year since the Agency lost continuity of knowledge” over previously declared stocks of uranium enriched to as much as 60 percent at facilities hit in US and Israeli attacks in June 2025, Grossi stated.

Grossi described the lack of information and access as a proliferation concern that “needs to be rectified with the utmost urgency,” while calling on Iran to restore effective cooperation with the IAEA.

The nuclear watchdog’s warning coincides with efforts by the four Western powers to gain support for a draft resolution at the 35-member board. According to Reuters, the measure would send the Iran issue back to the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the first time in two decades.

The proposed text requests Grossi to transmit the resolution, previous board decisions, and his latest report to the UNSC and General Assembly, while also urging Iran to provide the necessary information and access to inspectors.

Iran has firmly rejected the move, maintaining that its nuclear programme is peaceful. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei accused Western governments of turning to the IAEA after failing to achieve their objectives elsewhere.

“Whenever they run out of options, they turn to the agency and Grossi,” Baghaei said at his weekly news conference on Monday. He argued that restrictions on inspectors were a direct consequence of US and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling it unreasonable to blame Tehran for the resulting loss of access.

Baghaei warned that Iran would take “necessary measures” should Western powers pursue the resolution.

While the draft has not yet been formally submitted to the board and negotiations continue, any concrete action at the Security Council could face potential opposition from Russia and China, two of the five permanent veto powers.