The United Kingdom urged Iran to restore International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors’ access to nuclear sites, citing a yearlong failure to account for more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%.
UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sarah MacIntosh made the appeal at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27. She said the IAEA Board of Governors referred Iran to the Security Council in September, after finding in June 2025 that Iran was not meeting the terms of its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. MacIntosh described the referral as the Board’s first of its kind in two decades.
The IAEA’s Sept. 1, 2026, report said it lacked information to determine the stockpile’s current quantity, makeup or location. It included a dated estimate of 440.9 kilograms enriched up to 60% for June 13, 2025; that figure does not establish Iran’s current holdings. EconoTimes previously covered the stockpile verification gap.
MacIntosh said the IAEA had been unable to reach a safeguards conclusion about the material and that Iran had barred inspectors from sites with significant proliferation concerns. She said IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi had conveyed that teams could resume verification work in Iran without lengthy notice. MacIntosh urged Iran to admit inspectors at every nuclear site and asked U.N. members to press Tehran to meet its safeguards duties and engage constructively with the agency.
MacIntosh said verification was needed to rebuild confidence that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful. She said the UK supported a lasting diplomatic settlement aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
