UN nuclear chief urges checks of Iran's programme in potential deal to end war

Published on 15/04/2026 - 16:02 GMT+2

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s Director General Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday that "very detailed" measures to verify Iran's nuclear activities must be included in a potential agreement to end the war in the Middle East.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi stressed the need for the thorough verification regime for Iran’s nuclear programme, as US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round of peace talks could happen over the next two days.

"Iran has a very ambitious, wide nuclear programme. So all of that will require the presence of IAEA inspectors; otherwise you will not have an agreement, you will have an illusion of an agreement," Grossi warned.

"So I am certain that we will be required and asked when the parties come to an agreement, hopefully, to provide the indispensable safeguard verification component of the agreement."

Tehran has not allowed the IAEA access to its nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the United States during a 12-day conflict last June, according to a confidential IAEA report circulated to member states in February.

The report stressed that it "cannot verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities," or the "size of Iran's uranium stockpile at the affected nuclear facilities."

The Trump administration has said that preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon is a key war aim, but Iran maintains it is not developing such weapons and rejects limits on its nuclear programme.

Last weekend in Pakistan, an initial round of talks between the two countries failed to produce an agreement, an outcome the White House blamed on Iran's refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Media reports on Tuesday quoting an unnamed Iranian diplomatic official, however, denied that negotiations had failed over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

According to the IAEA, Iran has maintained a stockpile of 440.9 kilogrammes of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Experts believe that the stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs should it decide to weaponise its programme.

Such highly enriched nuclear material should normally be verified every month, according to the IAEA's guidelines.

Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, but the IAEA and Western nations say Tehran had an organised nuclear weapons program up until 2003.

During Wednesday's press conference, Grossi also said his agency has confirmed "a rapid increase" in activities at nuclear facilities in North Korea.

His comments echoed a view by many foreign observers that North Korea has taken steps to expand its main Yongbyon nuclear complex and build additional uranium-enrichment sites since its diplomacy with the US collapsed in 2019.

Last September, South Korea's unification minister, Chung Dong-young, said Pyongyang was operating four uranium enrichment facilities and that they were running everyday.