The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors voted on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over non-compliance with nuclear safeguards. Twenty-three of the board’s 35 members voted in favour, three (China, Russia and Niger) voted against, and eight abstained. The resolution was put forward by the US, Britain, France and Germany. It is the first such referral in 20 years.
It builds on a June 2025 board resolution that found Iran in violation of its nonproliferation commitments. Iran called the vote “political” and argued the agency never verified any diversion of nuclear material.
IAEA reports trace a decline in cooperation since 2019. In 2020 Iran blocked inspectors from two locations, and in 2021 it disabled monitoring cameras at a centrifuge workshop in Karaj and subjected inspectors to what the agency called “excessively invasive physical searches.” In January 2023 inspectors found undeclared centrifuges at Fordow enriching uranium up to 83.7%. Since the war began in February 2026, the agency says it has visited no Iranian nuclear site except Bushehr.
What the Security Council does next is unclear. After the 2006 referral it imposed sanctions, but Russia and China hold vetoes there.
Sources: Deccan Chronicle.
