IAEA Report Highlights Uncertainty Over Iran's Nuclear Material

The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a confidential report on Friday indicating that it cannot verify whether Iran has diverted nuclear material away from peaceful purposes. The document, which was shared with media outlets, highlights the agency's inability to reach a definitive conclusion due to a lack of cooperation from Tehran.

The IAEA expressed growing concern regarding a uranium enrichment plant located in Isfahan. Iran declared this facility to the watchdog last year but has yet to allow inspectors to conduct a visit. This specific site, known as the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant, remains a focal point of uncertainty for the agency.

Access to nuclear sites has been significantly restricted following military campaigns in recent years. Inspectors have not been permitted to return to facilities that were targeted and damaged during a 12-day bombing campaign in June 2025 by Israel and the United States. Those strikes destroyed or severely damaged other enrichment plants that formed the core of Iran's nuclear program. Further conflicts arising from a war that began on February 28 of this year have also impacted nuclear infrastructure, prompting repeated calls from the IAEA for access.

In its assessment, the agency described conducting verification activities in Iran as critical and urged that they be carried out without further delay. The director general of the IAEA encouraged Iran to adopt technical and gradual measures that would facilitate the return of agency inspectors. The report acknowledged that the military attacks created an unprecedented situation for the organization.

Despite these challenges, the IAEA stated that the continued lack of cooperation raises serious concerns about nuclear proliferation that require urgent rectification. In September, the agency's board referred Iran to the UN Security Council. This marked the first time in 20 years that Iran has been referred to the UN's top body for failing to meet its nuclear reporting obligations.

Prior to the strikes in June 2025, the IAEA estimated that Iran held approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. This level of enrichment is close to the 90 percent threshold required for a nuclear weapon and is significantly higher than the 3.67 percent limit established by the now-defunct 2015 agreement. Since the mid-2025 attacks, the exact whereabouts and status of this stockpile have remained unclear.

Iran has consistently denied that it seeks to develop a nuclear bomb, although such highly enriched uranium is generally considered to have no peaceful application. In June, IAEA head Rafael Grossi noted that the widespread impression was that the stockpile remained near the Isfahan plant. The agency had planned to inspect the site on June 13, 2025, but the start of the bombing campaign on that day prevented the visit. The IAEA currently does not know the plant's exact location, its safeguards status, or whether it still contains nuclear material.

While the report focuses heavily on the Isfahan plant, it also reiterates the need for Iran to provide updates on its enrichment facilities and highly enriched uranium stocks. Inspectors must be allowed to return to the bombed sites to account for the enriched uranium. Although IAEA inspectors visited the Bushehr nuclear plant in September, they have not had access to other major facilities since then.

The report also details recent correspondence between the IAEA and Iran. In a letter sent on Thursday, the agency assured Tehran that it would protect all confidential information. This assurance came after Iran informed the agency about a $20 million reward offered by the United States for information regarding its nuclear program. Iran criticized the reward announcement last week and urged both the IAEA and the UN Security Council to condemn the move.