Report: The IAEA is increasingly concerned about the Iranian uranium enrichment facility, Isfahan

The International Atomic Energy Agency urged Iran to take "gradual steps" to allow the return of its inspectors to the main nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic, considering their access to them as "essential," in a report seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday (November 13, 2026).

“The agency does not know the exact location of the facility... or its status for safeguards purposes, or whether it contains nuclear material,” the agency said in its quarterly report to member states, referring to the Isfahan fuel enrichment facility.

Since July 2025, Iran has prevented visits by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to its nuclear facilities, after the bombing campaign launched by Israel for 12 days, to which the United States joined. The strikes targeted nuclear facilities. Facilities were also damaged in the latest war that broke out on February 28, and the UN agency repeatedly requested access to the sites.

The agency indicated in its report, which will be discussed during the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors next week, that it is “extremely important” to conduct “verification activities in Iran without further delay.” The report stated that the Director-General of the UN agency, Rafael Grossi, “encourages Iran to consider technical and gradual measures that will create the conditions that allow the agency’s inspectors to return to Iran.”

He added, "These gradual steps would pave the way for the normal resumption of the implementation of guarantees in Iran, and would contribute to creating a confidence-building atmosphere that would help reach a broader agreement." The report also reviewed details of the correspondence that took place in recent weeks between the agency and Iran.

Referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council

IAEA inspectors were able to visit the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran during September, but were unable to access other facilities.

The agency acknowledged that "the military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and sites have created an unprecedented situation." But due to the lack of cooperation, “the agency cannot confirm that any declared nuclear material from peaceful nuclear activities in Iran has not been diverted.”

In September, the IAEA's Board of Governors referred Iran's file to the UN Security Council due to its "non-compliance" in the nuclear file, which is the first time in 20 years that Iran has been referred to the highest UN body due to its failure to fulfill its obligations related to reporting its nuclear activities.

Before the strikes in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that Iran possessed about 440 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, which is close to the 90% level needed to make a nuclear bomb, and far exceeds the 3.67% ceiling stipulated in the agreement concluded in 2015.

Mystery surrounds the fate of Iran's stock of highly enriched uranium, which exceeds 400 kilograms, according to International Agency estimates, whose inspectors were able to inspect it for the last time on June 10, 2025, days before Israel began its strikes on the Islamic Republic, which the United States joined by bombing three major nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Iran has long denied seeking to develop a nuclear bomb.

Reuters quoted six European officials as saying that Saudi Arabia is pressuring the European Union to classify the Yemeni Houthi movement, which is allied with Iran, as a terrorist organization.

The six European officials expressed European Union countries' concern that including the Houthis on the list of terrorist groups may close the limited channels they maintain with the group, and may undermine any European participation in a future peace process in Yemen.

The government communication center in Saudi Arabia did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

European Union foreign policy spokesman Anwar al-Anouni said that the bloc is in regular contact with Riyadh on a range of issues, including regional developments, but he refused to comment on any specific ongoing discussions.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas said that the Union stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, after a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh in October. That truce collapsed in July of this year after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa airport. Since then, both sides have launched cross-border attacks that have resulted in the death and injury of civilians.

The necessity of unanimity among European Union member states

Including the Houthis on the list of terrorist organizations requires unanimous support from the twenty-seven member states of the European Union. One of the six officials said that support has so far been limited to only a few of them, refusing to reveal the identity of those countries because the discussions were confidential. Last month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to include the Houthis on the list of terrorist groups, a largely symbolic move, but indicating support within the continent to take a tougher stance toward the group. The Houthis are already subject to European Union sanctions, including an arms embargo and a freeze on the assets of 12 of their leaders. The bloc classified the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the main supporter of the Houthis, as a terrorist organization. But the European Union has not yet gone so far as to classify the Houthis themselves as a terrorist organization, a step taken by other Western countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada.