IAEA report urges Iran to take 'incremental steps' so its inspectors can return, AFP reports
A report by the UN's nuclear watchdog urges Iran to take 'incremental steps' to allow inspectors to return to key nuclear facilities, calling such access 'critical', AFP reported on Friday after seeing the report. The agency's director general 'encourages Iran to consider technical and gradual measures' that would let inspectors return and 'pave the way to normal safeguards implementation in Iran', the report said. Iran had not responded in the reporting read, and the agency still cannot verify Iran's stockpile of about 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60%.
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Key points
- An IAEA report seen by AFP urges Iran to take 'incremental steps' — technical and gradual measures — so inspectors can return to key facilities, calling access 'critical'.
- The report's wording rests on AFP's account for now; the report itself is not published in the reporting read, so this story runs in Checking state.
- The agency still cannot verify about 440 kg of Iranian uranium enriched to 60%; Bushehr is the only site where inspectors are working.
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- Iran had not responded to the new report in the reporting read.
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What happened
Inspectors lost access to Iran's key nuclear sites after the June 2025 strikes on nuclear facilities by Israel and the United States, and further attacks in the conflict that began in February 2026. Before the June 2025 strikes the agency estimated Iran held about 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% — close to weapons grade — whose location and condition it still cannot verify.
Grossi's October appeal to the Security Council was direct: he invited Iran 'to work with the IAEA without any further delay' to clarify outstanding safeguards questions, saying access is Iran's legal obligation. The new report's softer formula — gradual, technical steps — is the agency's latest attempt to find a way back in.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That AFP reports seeing an IAEA report urging incremental steps for inspectors' return, in the words quoted.
- That the agency cannot verify the 440 kg stockpile and that Bushehr is the only site with inspectors working, from Grossi's October Security Council briefing.
What we don't know yet
- Iran's response to the new report — none was in the reporting read.
- The report's full text and which facilities its proposed steps would cover first.
- Whether any gradual measures will be agreed, and on what timetable.
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- Where the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant is, what state it is in, and whether it contains nuclear material — the agency says it does not know, in the reported account of its latest report.
Claim by claim
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Why this label: AFP says it saw the report on Friday; the report itself has not been published in the reporting read, so its wording rests on AFP's account for now and the story runs in Checking state.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: Grossi's Security Council briefing is a matter of public record, carried by the UN's own briefing video and by member-state statements.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The referral and its history are stated in the UK's Security Council statement and agree with the other accounts of the October briefing.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Both reports trace to Reuters' reading of the same confidential report, which has not been published — one source chain, so the claim is labelled Not yet verified.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why it matters
Without inspectors on the ground, no one outside Iran can verify where 440 kg of near-weapons-grade uranium is or what condition the bombed facilities are in — the uncertainty at the heart of the standoff since the 2025 strikes. A call for 'incremental steps' signals the watchdog is trying to restart verification in pieces rather than wait for a full settlement.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
Israeli and US strikes hit Iranian nuclear facilities; IAEA inspectors withdraw and lose access to key sites. The IAEA Board finds Iran non-compliant with its safeguards agreement.
The IAEA Board reports Iran to the UN Security Council for continued non-compliance — the first such referral in two decades.
Grossi tells the Security Council inspectors are ready to return and invites Iran to cooperate 'without any further delay'.
AFP reports seeing a new IAEA report urging 'incremental steps' toward inspectors' return.
Update history
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The same report cycle adds a further concern: the agency says it still cannot locate or inspect the Isfahan enrichment plant Iran declared in June 2025, and does not know whether it holds nuclear material.
Published in Checking state — AFP reports the watchdog's call for incremental steps; Iran's response is still awaited and is listed among what is not yet known.