IAEA calls on Iran to 're-engage' as West pressures it with resolution

VIENNA – UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran on June 8 to “re-engage” with him so inspections can resume at sites the US and Israel bombed in 2025, as the US led a push for a resolution to that effect at the agency's board.

Iran still has not informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of what happened to those bombed nuclear sites or the nuclear material, including uranium enriched to near bomb-grade, which was stored there.

While the bombings destroyed or badly damaged uranium-enrichment facilities, much of the highly enriched uranium, including some enriched up to 60 per cent, a short step from the roughly 90 per cent of weapons grade, is thought to have survived.

“It's very important that we re-engage,” Grossi told the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors on the first day of a quarterly meeting.

“I call on Iran to engage the agency constructively in order to facilitate the full and effective implementation of safeguards in Iran,” he added in a separate, written statement to the board, using a term that encompasses inspections.

The IAEA has conducted some inspections at sites that were not bombed, but it halted those on safety grounds in February because of renewed military strikes, and has since inspected only Iran's operating power plant at Bushehr.

“I have sporadic contacts with the foreign minister and others, but basically the channel of communication is broken,” Grossi told a press conference after he addressed the board.

At the same time, the US led a push, formally backed by Britain, France and Germany, for the board to pass a resolution later this week ordering Iran to provide “precise information” on the bombed sites and enriched uranium “without delay”.

While diplomats said the resolution is likely to pass by a clear margin, as a similar one did in November, it risks complicating talks between the US and Iran aimed at extending their ceasefire and paving the way for wider talks on issues including Iran's nuclear programme.

“Responsibility for an internationally wrongful act rests with the perpetrator and cannot be transferred to the victim. The Board must not be instrumentalised to relieve those who carried out these attacks of their responsibility,” Iran's mission to the IAEA said on social media platform X, referring to the draft resolution and the fact that the US bombed its nuclear facilities.

Iran has bristled at previous board resolutions against it, usually responding by escalating its nuclear activities or scaling back cooperation with the IAEA.

“The Board should be cautious on the path forward. Coercion and confrontation do not lead to cooperation. It undermines prospects of a diplomatic solution,” the mission added.

Israel and Iran exchanged military strikes late on June 7 and on June 8, and US President Donald Trump demanded that they “immediately stop ‘shooting’”.

Speaking to the Financial Times on June 7 after Iran fired missiles at Israel, Trump said: “It's not going to have any impact on the deal (with Iran).” REUTERS