Iran ended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday after the United Nations watchdog passed a resolution backing further inspections of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
The measure was meant to demand information about the status of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and nuclear sites that the United States and Israel bombed during a brief conflict in June.
In the three-page resolution, the IAEA Board of Governors said, “Iran has failed over the past five months to provide the IAEA with requested information regarding the status of its enriched uranium stockpiles and safeguarded nuclear facilities.”
The agency’s board then moved to force Iran to provide the information “without delay,” adopting the resolution that was drafted by the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the approved IAEA measure as an “illegal and unjustified” action.
“The content of the adopted resolution reflects U.S. bullying and the duplicitous behavior of the three European states,” the ministry said in a statement. “While even the IAEA Director General acknowledged in report GOV/2025/65 that the current suspension of verification activities in certain Iranian nuclear facilities is a direct result of military attacks by the US and the Zionist regime, the drafters of the resolution deliberately avoided any reference to this fact.”
Preceding the June bombing campaign, the IAEA published a separate report in late May that concluded Iran’s “rapid accumulation of highly enriched uranium is of serious concern.”
In September, Iran agreed to reinstate the IAEA’s nuclear inspections after the bombing attacks. Now, Iran’s foreign minister is calling into question the body’s “credibility and independence.”
“By disregarding Iran’s responsible and good‑faith conduct, the three European countries and the US disrupted the positive trajectory established between Iran and the agency, forcing Iran to announce the termination of the September 9 accord,” the ministry added. “It should be noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran had signed a new framework of cooperation with the agency on September 9, under which inspections of certain nuclear facilities had resumed.”
There are international concerns over Iran’s uranium because the element, if enriched at high levels, could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear energy program is peaceful and maintains it is not enriching uranium anymore.
IRAN CLAIMS IT IS NO LONGER ENRICHING URANIUM AT ANY SITE
Nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran remain paused as the Trump administration continues sanctioning the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and military capabilities. Iran’s foreign minister says it is open to resuming the talks as long as both sides move toward a “fair and balanced deal.”
President Donald Trump indicated this week he is open to restarting the nuclear talks with Iran, which he claimed “very badly” wants to make a deal.