Grossi: IAEA Lacks Knowledge on Iran Enriched Uranium For Year

At a Glance

IAEA Director-General warned that the agency has lacked critical "continuity of knowledge" regarding Iran's enriched uranium inventories.
Grossi urged Iran to engage constructively, calling cooperation the shortest path to implementing nuclear safeguards.
Tehran's Defense: Iranian officials state that the physical destruction from the bombings structurally blocked all paths to underground validation sites.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi warned that the agency has lost all knowledge regarding Iran’s nuclear program following a total cessation of verification access since June 2025.

Key Statements and Focus Area

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that, “It is more than a year since the agency lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the previously declared inventories of LEU [Low Enriched Uranium] and HEU [Highly Enriched Uranium] enriched up to 60% U-235 at the declared nuclear facilities affected by the military attacks of June 2025.”
Grossi affirmed that Iran has halted all engagement with the agency.

Speaking during the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, the Director-General stated that the agency has not received any information from Iran regarding the status of its declared nuclear material or facilities, nor has it been granted access to conduct in-field verification activities.

He noted that the agency was consequently unable to fulfill its safeguards responsibilities under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement at Iran’s declared nuclear facilities.

“We were not able to verify their status for safeguards purposes and the associated nuclear material, and as a result, I am also unable to report in relation to the implementation by Iran of relevant provisions of the UN Security Council resolutions or the board’s resolutions of November last year and June this year,” he added.

He warned that the agency's lack of oversight regarding these facilities and nuclear materials constitutes a "matter of serious proliferation concern."

“The situation needs to be rectified with the utmost urgency,” he added.

Grossi urged Iran to engage constructively with the agency to enable full safeguards implementation and fulfill its Non-Proliferation Treaty responsibilities.

Grossi further told a press conference after the meeting that, “the shortest way for a positive outcome is for Iran to engage with us.”

He said that Tehran intends to withhold cooperation until a broader political agreement is finalized.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei underlined that European nations utilize the nuclear dossier for political leverage during diplomatic challenges, adding that the IAEA Director-General allows the organization to serve as a mechanism for external pressure against Tehran.

Furthermore, Baghaei maintained that prior military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iranian nuclear infrastructure physically obstructed the path for inspections, effectively making verification activities impossible for the agency.

FYI

The breakdown in oversight between the IAEA and Tehran follows a significant shift from diplomacy to open military conflict, compounded by recent geopolitical pressure. Historically, the IAEA maintained vital tracking capabilities over Iran's nuclear cycle through automated monitoring systems and in-field verification visits.

However, this framework shattered in June 2025 after a series of targeted U.S. and Israeli airstrikes significantly damaged key nuclear infrastructure at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.

In response to the strikes and an ongoing U.S. naval blockade, Tehran halted all engagement with inspectors, asserting that structural destruction made verification physically impossible.

The standoff has developed alongside statements from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding potential military action against additional underground installations, such as Iran's Pickaxe Mountain facility.

While IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi declined to comment directly on these unilateral national decisions, he stressed that a diplomatic resolution remains the only viable path to gaining credible assurances about the program.