Referring Iran's nuclear file to the Security Council amid military escalation in the Gulf

The 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency referred Iran to the United Nations Security Council, for the first time in 20 years, due to its “breach” of its obligations related to nuclear non-proliferation, despite Iran, Russia and China’s appeal to the Council not to take this step called for by the United States and three European countries.

The decision comes as a follow-up to a previous decision adopted on June 12 of last year, that is, one day before Israel began bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, and then the United States joined in the attacks shortly after, according to Reuters.

Although the Security Council is unlikely to take concrete measures against Iran because its allies Russia and China are permanent members of the Council and have veto power, this step represents an escalation in the diplomatic confrontation between Iran and Western powers. Iran warned on Monday that it would respond if the resolution was adopted.

Iran had previously criticized the actions of the three European countries, and considered its new efforts to refer the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council as evidence of the failure of the “snapback illusion.”

The Iranian mission in Vienna confirmed in a message via the “X” platform: It seems that they themselves do not believe in the trigger mechanism and returning the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council’s agenda, which is what they have previously done and promoted a lot. This action is evidence of the complete failure of the trigger mechanism illusion. The mission stressed that "this new desperate measure will not work, and they will not achieve any gain."

Before the vote, Iran, Russia, and China issued a joint statement at the Board of Governors meeting, in which they considered the draft resolution submitted by America and the three European countries (Germany, France, and Britain) to refer the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council, as lacking a legal basis and inconsistent with the claim of commitment to diplomacy, and called on member states not to support the anti-Iran draft resolution.

Diplomats who attended the closed meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency told Reuters that the text, proposed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, was approved by a majority of 23 votes in favour, three votes in opposition, and eight abstentions. They pointed out that the countries that opposed the decision were Russia, China and Niger.

The text of the resolution stated: “The Council requests the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency to submit a report on this resolution and previously adopted resolutions... to all members of the Agency and to the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agency’s statute.”

On Wednesday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard attacked what it said was a US military base in Jordan in response to strikes carried out by the United States targeting Iranian oil tankers, while also announcing on Wednesday the maritime no-go zone it imposed outside the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that a restricted maritime area will extend from Chabahar in Iran to parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, with its precise coordinates to be announced later.

This announcement comes after official media quoted Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying on Sunday that Iran will establish a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.

The Iranian official news agency "IRNA" also quoted the Revolutionary Guard in a statement saying that it targeted "the maintenance, equipping and stationing hangars of F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighters, in addition to the fighter aircraft shelters at the Azraq base in Jordan" located 100 kilometers from the capital, Amman.

For its part, the Jordanian army stated in a statement on Wednesday that its air defenses dealt with 20 ballistic missiles originating from Iran that targeted the Kingdom and intercepted 18 of them, while two missiles landed in a remote area, stressing that there were no casualties.

Shortly before that, the Revolutionary Guard warned that it would target oil tankers in Kuwait and Bahrain, calling on crews to “leave their ships immediately,” according to IRNA.

For its part, US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied hitting two American destroyers in the Middle East, and said that the Revolutionary Guards' claim of hitting them was "completely false."

Centcom said in a statement on the X platform on Wednesday: “No US warship was hit; all attacks launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps failed at the same time.”

The statement added: “American forces succeeded in destroying 10 Iranian tankers just last week. These ships were part of the shadow fleet network that funds the Revolutionary Guard with billions of dollars, and Iran cannot defend them.”

The Revolutionary Guard announced later on Wednesday that it had attacked two American ships, eight oil tankers, and 10 “violating ships” that were trying to cross through the Strait of Hormuz, according to IRNA.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said on Tuesday that it "destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on September 8, after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days."

It noted that the American warship "succeeded in avoiding Iranian attack attempts and continued its patrols in territorial waters, without any casualties among American personnel."

In turn, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States will continue to target Iranian tankers with retaliatory strikes.

Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia: “Iran continues its attempts to strike American ships, and every time it does or attempts to do so, it will lose tankers, and I think you will see that again today.”

The Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday night that the US army targeted a small oil tanker near Khark Island with a missile strike, without causing any casualties.

Chief of the General Staff, Ali Abdullah, had vowed that Iran would target American military bases in the region if Washington continued to bomb its oil tankers.

The Revolutionary Guard confirmed on Tuesday that “fighters of the Revolutionary Guards’ naval force were able to capture one of the latest smart unmanned submarines of the US Army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.”

He added in a statement: “This smart submarine is equipped with the latest technology in submarines in the world, which was delivered to the US Army’s terrorist fleet in 2025.”

US Central Command (Centcom) spokesman Tim Hawkins said: “A naval drone operated by US forces suffered a malfunction more than a day ago. It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations,” without mentioning whether Iran had detained it.

Hawkins pointed out that "the disabled drone is an old model that does not collect sensitive data and is not equipped with classified sonar or radar equipment."

Also, Iranian state television confirmed on Wednesday that “two American destroyers carrying cruise and Aegis missiles” had been targeted with ballistic missiles.

Military confrontations continue between Iran and the United States in and around the Strait of Hormuz, even after the ceasefire agreement concluded in April put an end to the first campaign of intense bombing.

Negotiations between Tehran and Washington have faltered, as the two sides compete to control the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports passed before the war began.

Since the outbreak of war, traffic through this vital waterway has been almost completely disrupted, which has had a negative impact on global energy markets.

Iran imposed on ships to obtain prior permission to cross the Strait, in a move opposed by Washington and many countries in the region.

The United States responded to Tehran's move by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports, and on Tuesday it imposed sanctions on "all Iranian airlines" that were still outside the scope of US measures aimed at intensifying economic pressure on Tehran.

Peninsula Company said on Wednesday that a sailor was killed in an incident involving the Gibraltar-flagged oil products tanker Hercules Star, while it was anchored off Dubai.

Peninsula, the ship's charterer, said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that we confirm that there has been one death," without providing details about the cause of death.

She continued: "In addition, one of the crew members is still missing, and a specialized team is working to determine his location. The safety of all other crew members has been confirmed."

Preliminary assessments from maritime security sources indicate that it is possible that the ship was targeted by a drone.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority, which is linked to the British Navy, said separately that it had received a report of a ship leaning on its side 24 nautical miles off Port Rashid in the UAE while it was anchored, “which may indicate water leaking into it following an attack with an unknown projectile.”

Sources in the field of maritime security said, based on their assessments, that the location was close to the tanker (Hercules Star).

In Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told Reuters that a tanker carrying about two million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was attacked by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters on Wednesday.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority stated that several commercial ships in the Gulf were exposed to fire that led to them stopping during military activity in the region during the night.

The two officials added that a fire broke out on board the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker, New Andros, after it was targeted in Iraqi waters at around 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) today.

The statement on Wednesday called on the member states of the agency not to support the draft anti-Iran resolution, which aims to “escalate the situation, and is not consistent with the declared commitment of the countries sponsoring the draft resolution to diplomacy,” according to what was reported by the Iranian IRNA agency.

The statement added that “the proof of Iran’s alleged non-compliance with its safeguards obligations in June 2025 was motivated by political considerations and has no basis,” and that this action “paved the way” for attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities subject to IAEA safeguards, and became the root cause of subsequent difficulties in implementing safeguards in Iran.

Iran, Russia, and China confirmed that all provisions of Security Council Resolution No. 2231 would expire on October 18, 2025, and considered the attempt of the three European countries to activate the so-called “snapback” mechanism invalid and without any legal effect.

The statement stressed that requesting the Director-General of the Agency to submit reports on the implementation of these decisions “lacks, on this basis, any legal basis, and carries the risk of “politicizing” an issue that should remain primarily of a technical nature.

The statement strongly condemned the repeated attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities subject to Agency guarantees, and the continued “threat of aggression.” Stressing that these measures have created an unprecedented situation in the history of the agency, and target the foundations of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Iran, Russia, and China also indicated continued US attacks on Iran, including in recent days; Declaring that the prevailing security conditions have made the normal implementation of the Agency’s safeguards in Iran practically impossible, she noted that this fact was also acknowledged in the recent reports of the Agency’s Director General.