Nuclear agency refers Iran to UN Security Council over its refusal to cooperate

The UN atomic watchdog's board has reported Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in two decades. This move comes after Iran's failure to cooperate in an investigation into traces of uranium discovered at undeclared sites. The West suspects these traces may indicate a secret nuclear weapons program from 2003. Iran denies pursuing such weapons and maintains its program is peaceful.

Voting 23-8 at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, the resolution, proposed by the US, Britain, France, and Germany, will open the way for potential sanctions. Iran's ambassador to the UN, Reza Najafi, dismissed the resolution as a "political tool" and questioned the IAEA's credibility. He argued that Iran's ongoing conflict with the US and Israel makes compliance impossible.

The US recently destroyed Iranian oil tankers, prompting Iranian retaliation against American targets in Jordan. Since the June 2025 war, Iran has barred IAEA inspectors from affected nuclear sites, making access "materially impossible." The IAEA reports Iran has 440.9kg of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, which could potentially be used to build 10 nuclear bombs.