US, UK, France, Germany Draft Resolution to Refer Iran to UN

The United States, Britain, France and Germany have prepared a draft resolution seeking to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its alleged failure to meet nuclear nonproliferation obligations, diplomats said.

The proposal could be presented to the Board of Governors of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at its meeting next week.

As a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally required to report its nuclear materials and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that nuclear material is not being diverted for military purposes.

The latest diplomatic effort has been under discussion since June 2025, when the IAEA Board of Governors formally determined that Iran was failing to meet its nonproliferation obligations. It was the first such finding in two decades and came a day before the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Referring the matter to the UN Security Council would move it to a body with the authority to impose additional legally binding measures, potentially including sanctions and asset freezes.

However, major punitive action by the Security Council appears unlikely because Russia and China, both of which maintain close ties with Iran, hold veto powers on the council.

The draft asks IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to forward the resolution, along with previously adopted resolutions, to IAEA member states as well as the UN Security Council and General Assembly in accordance with the agency's governing statute.

The proposal also expresses support for a diplomatic settlement of disputes surrounding Iran's nuclear programme and its implications for regional peace and security. It calls for an agreement that addresses international concerns over Iran's nuclear activities and urges all sides to participate constructively in diplomatic efforts.

Diplomats said negotiations over the draft are continuing and that it has not yet been formally submitted to the IAEA Board. Its wording could therefore still change as member states propose amendments.

If formally introduced, the resolution is expected to be considered during next week's IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna.

A senior Western diplomat said the decision to refer Iran to the Security Council had previously been delayed to give diplomacy a final opportunity. The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the sensitive matter, said the IAEA Board now believes it must act because Iran has not only failed to cooperate but has also stopped communicating with the agency.

Iran has not allowed IAEA inspectors to visit nuclear facilities damaged during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June 2025, despite its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The IAEA has also been unable to determine what happened to Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to levels approaching weapons-grade since the June attacks. The agency's efforts have been further complicated by more than six months of fighting that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, including strikes carried out by both sides this week.

In a confidential report issued Tuesday, the IAEA warned that Iran's continued refusal to provide access to nuclear facilities or allow verification of its nuclear materials represents a serious "proliferation risk" requiring urgent attention.

The agency estimates that Iran possesses 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched to as much as 60 percent purity. Enrichment to around 90 percent is generally considered weapons-grade.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in an interview last year that the quantity could theoretically provide enough material for Iran to produce up to 10 nuclear weapons if it chose to shift its nuclear programme toward military purposes. He stressed, however, that this does not mean Iran currently possesses nuclear weapons.

The IAEA's latest confidential report also said there had been no meaningful progress in its investigation into traces of uranium found by inspectors at several sites in Iran that had not been declared to the agency.

Western governments believe the findings could provide additional indications that Iran operated a covert nuclear weapons programme until 2003.

Iran rejects those allegations and maintains that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons and that its nuclear activities are solely for peaceful purposes.