VIENNA — The United States, Britain, France and Germany have drafted a resolution for possible consideration by the Board of Governors of the U.N. nuclear watchdog that seeks to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for failure to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, diplomats say.
Under those obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow inspectors of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses.
The diplomatic move has been under consideration since June 2025 when the IAEA board found Iran officially in noncompliance with its nonproliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years — one day before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran's nuclear sites.
The possible referral of Iran to the U.N. Security Council shifts the responsibility to a higher authority that is able to enact further legally binding measures, including sanctions or asset freezes.
But specific punitive measures by the U.N. are unlikely in this case since Iran’s allies Russia and China hold a veto power on the U.N. Security Council.
The draft resolution, which was seen by The Associated Press and reported earlier by Reuters, requests the IAEA director general Rafael Grossi “to transmit this resolution and the previously adopted resolutions … to all Members of the Agency and to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IAEA Statute.”
The resolution also “stresses its support for a diplomatic solution to the challenges posed by the Iranian nuclear programme and its implications for regional peace and stability leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran’s nuclear activities, and encourages all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy.”
Diplomats say that the resolution is still under negotiation and has not yet been formally submitted to the board. The text of the draft resolution may therefore still change, as board members still have the opportunity to suggest amendments.
Once formally submitted, it will be put to a vote during next week’s IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna.
Referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council had been stalled to allow a final push for diplomacy, according to a senior Western diplomat, who wasn’t authorized to comment about the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. The IAEA board now has to follow its mandate and act because not only has Iran not cooperated, but even communication is no longer happening, the official said.
Since Israel and the U.S. struck Iran's nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June 2025, Iran hasn't given IAEA inspectors access to nuclear sites that were affected by the strikes — even though Tehran is legally obliged to cooperate with the watchdog under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The agency also has been unable to verify the status of the stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the June bombing. Of course, that has been made much more difficult by more than six months of war that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran on Feb. 28, including strikes that have been carried out by both Washington and Tehran this week.
The IAEA warned in Tuesday’s confidential report, seen by the AP, that continued denial by Iran to allow IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear sites and to verify the nuclear material constitutes a “proliferation risk” that needed to be “addressed with the utmost urgency.”
According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, IAEA chief Grossi warned in an interview last year with the AP. He said that it doesn't mean that Iran has such a weapon.
The IAEA also reported in its confidential report on Tuesday that there has been no progress in its long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at various undeclared sites in Iran.
Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide further evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.
Iran says that it’s not pursuing nuclear weapons, and its program is entirely peaceful.
—- The Associated Press receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.