IRIA News

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The International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution urging Iran to grant inspectors access to key nuclear sites and provide full information on its activities. Tehran immediately rejected the unrestricted access and warned ithe resolution would have consequences.

The vote, held in Vienna on November 20, passed with 19 countries in favor, three against, and 12 abstaining, diplomats said. Russia, China, and Niger opposed the resolution.

The resolution urges Iran to “provide the Agency without delay with precise information on nuclear material accountancy and safeguarded nuclear facilities in Iran, and grant the Agency all access it requires to verify this information.”

The measure was introduced jointly by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany following renewed calls by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi for Tehran to allow inspections at facilities damaged in June during attacks carried out by Israel and the United States.

Those strikes began on June 13, a day after the agency found Iran noncompliant with international safeguards, prompting Iranian officials to accuse the IAEA of paving the way for the conflict.

Today at the @IAEAorg Board of Governors, I reported on our ongoing efforts to uphold nuclear safety, security and safeguards worldwide and to strengthen the benefits of nuclear science and technology.

Our inspectors are back in Iran and have carried out inspections at… pic.twitter.com/gdzljsXYq4

— Rafael Mariano Grossi (@rafaelmgrossi) November 19, 2025

“We have performed a number of inspections, but we have not been able to go to the attack sites. I hope we will be able. Indeed, we have to go because this is part of Iran’s commitments,” Grossi said adding that “I hope we’ll be able to move in a constructive manner.”

Iran Rejects Access to Bombed Sites

Tehran said it will not cooperate regarding access to any facility damaged in the June attacks. Speaking on Wednesday evening, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated, “We only cooperate regarding nuclear facilities that have not been affected, in compliance with IAEA regulations.”

Araghchi also responded to the resolution by accusing Western countries of undermining the agency’s neutrality. “With this action and disregard for Iran’s interactions and goodwill, these countries have tarnished the IAEA’s credibility and independence and are disrupting the process of interactions and cooperation between the agency and Iran,” he said.

Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, warned that the vote would have repercussions. “I’m afraid the resolution will have its own consequences.” Najafi said after the meeting, “We will announce the consequences later.” In remarks to AFP, he added that the resolution would have a “negative impact” on relations with the agency.

Inspectors have been unable to visit the Fordo and Natanz sites, two key components of Iran’s nuclear program targeted during the June strikes. Other facilities unaffected by the attacks remain open to IAEA inspections.

Strained Relations After Conflict

Tensions between Iran and the IAEA have intensified over recent years but reached a new level following the 12-day conflict in June that killed more than 1,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage across Iran.

Tehran has repeatedly condemned the IAEA’s refusal to denounce the attacks, saying it undermines the agency’s impartiality.

Grossi and Araghchi reached a preliminary agreement in Cairo in early September to resume inspections, but the deal collapsed later that month after the United Kingdom, France, and Germany triggered the UN sanctions snapback mechanism.

The E3 accused Iran of breaching the 2015 nuclear accord, charges Tehran denies. Iran responded by halting implementation of the Cairo agreement.

The snapback restored six UN Security Council resolutions related to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and reimposed economic sanctions, including a halt on all uranium enrichment.

Despite the dispute, France’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday the E3 still hopes to reopen diplomatic engagement with Tehran. Spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said the three powers “had always wanted to maintain dialogue with Iran.”

Iran Hardens Position on Enrichment

Foreign Minister Araghchi further escalated rhetoric on Thursday, declaring on his X account that uranium enrichment is now a matter of “national pride and honor.”

He said Iran would never agree to reduce enrichment to zero, calling any such demand “treason.” He added, “We have made great expenditures for it, and have sacrificed several martyred nuclear scientists to preserve it.”

Araghchi reiterated that cooperation with the IAEA will remain limited to facilities not damaged in the June attacks and emphasized that Tehran views its program as fully compliant with existing IAEA regulations.

IAEA Response and Continuing Engagement

The IAEA confirmed that its inspectors have returned to Iran and conducted checks at facilities not impacted by the attacks. Grossi said the agency remains in “regular contact” with Tehran and is working toward restoring full verification measures.

Addressing the Board of Governors earlier this week, he said, “We are not asking anybody to draft a resolution,” urging member states to focus instead on obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Safeguards Agreement.

A joint statement by Iran, Russia, Belarus, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe condemned the resolution as political.

The statement accused Western states of pressuring the IAEA to target Iran while ignoring “the illegal aggression of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities in June.”

US Signals Openness to Diplomatic Track

On November 18, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran is seeking a diplomatic opening with Washington. “I am totally open to it, and we’re talking to them,” Trump said.

“We start a process. But it would be a nice thing to have a deal with Iran. And we could have done it before the war, but that didn’t work out. And something will happen there, I think,” he added.

The United States withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018, reimposing broad sanctions and deepening the dispute over Iran’s program.