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Iran warns IAEA resolution facilitates ‘ultimate collapse’ of non-proliferation regime
Iran strongly condemned a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors that refers Tehran to the UN Security Council, warning that the move undermines global non-proliferation frameworks and ignores the realities of an ongoing war on Iran.
The UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday referred Iran to the Security Council for “non-compliance” with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty – the first such move in 20 years.
The board of governors cites a lack of information on Iran’s nuclear material such as its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and the lack of access to nuclear facilities for IAEA inspectors.
Iran’s mission to the UN in Vienna in a statement slammed the “non-consensual adoption” of the resolution, arguing that it “facilitates further erosion and ultimate collapse of the proliferation regime as a whole.”
The Iranian mission placed the blame for the current nuclear standoff squarely on the United States and Israel, citing their wars of aggression against the country.
It noted that the US and Israel have bombed “peaceful, safeguarded nuclear sites” and violated basic principles of international law and the UN Charter.
The mission also highlighted the hypocrisy of Western powers that have historically praised “diplomatic solutions” at the IAEA while simultaneously resorting to the unlawful use of force.
Separately, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi criticized the logic of the IAEA and Western powers, saying that the very lack of access being condemned was manufactured by foreign military strikes.
“They attack Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities, disrupt the normal verification process, and then use that very disruption as a pretext for issuing a resolution in the Board of Governors,” said Gharibabadi.
The IAEA has not had access to some Iranian nuclear facilities since a US-Israeli military offensive in June 2025, which included direct airstrikes on safeguarded nuclear sites.
Access has remained blocked following a broader war that erupted on February 28, which has also seen nuclear and civilian infrastructure targeted.
This is while before the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA had access to those nuclear sites.
A joint statement by Russia, China and Iran also slammed the draft resolution as “not relevant”.
The statement said that triggering the so-called “snapback” mechanism under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, known as the JCPOA, lacks legal basis because a UN Security Council resolution that was adopted more than 10 years ago and endorsed the JCPOA had terminated on 18 October 2025.
The three countries also reiterated that Tehran has maintained a good level of cooperation with the IAEA despite a war of aggression by the US, which they said has created “extraordinary conditions” in the country.