IAEA increasingly concerned over Iran enrichment plant it cannot inspect

The UN's nuclear watchdog says it is "increasingly concerned" about a uranium-enrichment plant at Isfahan that Iran declared to it last year but has still not let the watchdog inspect, according to a confidential IAEA report seen by media outlets.

What the IAEA report says

• Iran declared the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant (IFEP) to the agency on June 12, 2025.
• The IAEA had planned to inspect the plant on June 13, 2025, but a bombing campaign by Israel and the United States began that day, making it impossible.
• "The Agency does not know IFEP's exact location, status for safeguards purposes or whether it contains nuclear material," the report says.
• The report adds that "the Agency is also increasingly concerned that Iran has not permitted the Agency" to inspect the plant or see design plans.
• IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in March his agency believed a significant amount of Iran's most highly enriched uranium was in the tunnel complex at Isfahan.

Access to bombed sites

Iran has not let International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors return to any of its nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the United States in a 12-day campaign in June 2025 that destroyed or badly damaged Iran's other uranium enrichment plants, the report says. The targets included a tunnel network at Isfahan where diplomats have said they believe IFEP is located, though a senior diplomat said its whereabouts and status remained unknown.

The report reiterates that Iran should inform the IAEA of the status of its enrichment plants as well as its stock of highly enriched uranium, which includes material close to weapons grade, and let inspectors return to the bombed sites and account for the enriched uranium.

"The Agency's lack of information about this nuclear material and access to facilities to verify it is a matter of serious proliferation concern .... and needs to be rectified with the utmost urgency," the report says.

Why it matters

The IAEA's inability to verify Iran's nuclear material and facilities raises proliferation concerns, and the agency is urging Iran to take incremental steps to allow inspectors to return to key nuclear facilities.

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Sources

• bbc.com: UN watchdog 'increasingly concerned' over Iran nuclear site
• timesofisrael.com: UN nuclear watchdog increasingly concerned about Iran enrichment plant, report says | The Times of Israel
• lbc.co.uk: Nuclear watchdog 'increasingly concerned' about underground Iranian enrichment plant | LBC
• huffpost.com: U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Increasingly Concerned About Iranian Enrichment Plant, Its Report Says | HuffPost

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.