Nuclear inspectors see no evidence Iran fixed bombed sites

Magdalena Del Valle, Bloomberg News on Oct 27, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said it hasn’t detected any efforts by Iran to rebuild nuclear facilities damaged in U.S. and Israeli strikes over the past two years, even as Tehran continues to block inspectors’ access to most of its atomic sites.

“Since June 2025, we have not identified any activity to repair or reconstruct any of the facilities damaged in the military attacks of 2025 and 2026,” International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

Grossi’s remarks undercut President Donald Trump’s narrative that launching a new war against Iran in late February was necessary to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions. The president has repeatedly said he’s weighing renewed strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections.

The assessment echoes a conclusion that former U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard included in written testimony before a congressional committee earlier this year. She wrote that Iran’s uranium enrichment program had been “obliterated” in U.S. and Israeli strikes in June 2025, and that there “has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.”

At the same time, the IAEA’s ability to assess Iran’s nuclear activities remains constrained by its lack of access to most of the country’s atomic sites. Grossi reiterated that inspectors have been unable to verify the status of Iran’s nuclear material — including the previously declared 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% — and called on Tehran to grant renewed access.

“As of today the IAEA has not been able to verify that there has been no diversion of nuclear material required to be safeguarded,” he said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed it had destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities but offered little evidence to back up its claims.

Trump started the current war against Iran because he said he needed to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, something that most experts said the Islamic Republic was years away from.

The White House, asked for comment, simply reiterated Trump’s claims that the U.S. had crushed Iran’s nuclear facilities and their military.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has offered other explanations for the war, including that Washington had to act before Israel struck Iran and sparked retaliation against the U.S. He’s also said Iran was building up its ballistic missile and drone capability as a conventional “shield” around its nuclear program.

_____