The future of inspections related to Iran’s nuclear program was one of the main topics at the IAEA’s 70th General Conference in Vienna, the capital of Austria. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for diplomacy to address the risk of nuclear proliferation, while U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev also spoke at the conference.
Grossi said the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remained the cornerstone of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime. He said a world with more nuclear weapons and more nuclear-armed countries would not become safer.
Access and information problems in inspections in Iran
Grossi said inspections of Iran’s nuclear program had deteriorated in 2026 and that inspectors had been forced to withdraw. He said no field verification activities had been carried out in Iran for more than six months, apart from an inspection conducted at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in June.
Grossi also said continuity of information about Iran’s inventory of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent had not been maintained for more than a year. He said the lack of information about the status of nuclear material and the inability to access facilities for verification created serious nuclear proliferation concerns, and called for a return to diplomacy and negotiations.
The IAEA director general also announced that outstanding safeguards issues concerning nuclear activities dating from Syria’s ousted Assad regime had been resolved. He said this progress had been achieved through Syria’s transparency and cooperation.
Washington calls on Iran to cooperate
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright described Iran’s lack of transparency toward the IAEA as unacceptable. Wright argued that Tehran had been given sufficient time to fulfill its obligations and said Iran must not develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
Wright called on Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA, fulfill its safeguards obligations and provide the access necessary for the agency to continue its work. He recalled that the IAEA Board of Governors had taken the necessary step to report Iran’s failure to fulfill its obligations to the United Nations Security Council.
Addressing the United States’ nuclear energy goals, Wright said the Trump administration aimed to add 300 gigawatts to the country’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Rosatom raises attacks on nuclear facilities
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev claimed that nuclear facilities were being attacked almost every day. He said the safety of these facilities must be an absolute priority, regardless of where they are located.
Likhachev alleged that the Ukrainian army was carrying out regular attacks on Russian nuclear power plants. He said attacks on the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the area where it is located had increased in recent months, adding that tankers carrying diesel fuel needed for nuclear safety had been attacked last Friday.
Likhachev said the IAEA should not limit itself to recording the attacks and should clearly identify those responsible.
