UN nuclear chief urges halt to Iran strikes to allow inspections

Magdalena Del Valle, Bloomberg News on Jun 22, 2025

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The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog called for a return to diplomacy after the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, saying there’s “a window of opportunity” to return to dialogue.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned that the global framework for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons “is on the line” as he briefed the U.N. Security Council on Sunday in the aftermath of the U.S. strike that used stealth bombers and ground-penetrating munitions.

Underground damage at Fordow, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site, can’t be determined yet, Grossi said. Iran has informed the IAEA that off-site radiation levels at the three sites bombed by the U.S. haven’t increased, he said.

He called for renewed negotiations and an end to hostilities to allow IAEA inspectors to resume monitoring Iran’s nuclear sites and account for uranium stockpiles, including 400 kilograms (880 pounds) enriched to 60%.

“IAEA inspectors are in Iran, and they must do their job,” he said.

At Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site, more buildings — including some related to the uranium conversion process — were hit, Grossi said. Entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material also appear to have been hit. Isfahan is Iran’s only facility for converting uranium into the feedstock used by centrifuges, which in turn enrich uranium isotopes needed for nuclear fuel.

Iran requested the emergency meeting, the third since Israel began bombing Iran on June 13 but the first since President Donald Trump ordered the strike against Iranian nuclear sites.