NPT Safeguards Agreement with Iran: Resolution to the IAEA Board of Governors, September 2026
Joint statement on behalf of France, Germany, the UK, and United States (the Quad) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board meeting introducing a resolution on Iran's implementation of its obligations under its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement.
Thank you, Chair.
I take the floor today on behalf of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We would like to thank Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, and Romania, as cosponsors of the resolution the Board has before it for consideration.
Colleagues,
Much of today will be spent discussing the many ways in which Iran is failing to uphold its legal obligations under its NPT-required safeguards agreement, as is well-documented in the Director General’s most recent and past reports. In this regard we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Director General Grossi and to his team for their tireless efforts to fulfill the IAEA’s verification and monitoring mandate in Iran.
Iran’s actions are troubling. It is imperative that we hold Iran to account for its refusal to abide by its safeguards obligations. But we should take a few moments today to also consider the obligations of the IAEA Board of Governors.
In June 2025, this body adopted a resolution finding Iran noncompliant with its NPT-required safeguards agreement because Iran failed to credibly address critical safeguards concerns that had been outstanding for more than six years. According to the IAEA Statute, the Board has a mandatory obligation to report such findings of non-compliance to all IAEA Member States, and to the Security Council and General Assembly of the United Nations.
While recognizing the essential nature of that reporting, the Board in June 2025 also recognized a strong, shared desire to give Iran additional time to choose a different path before such reporting occurred. And so, the Board deferred its statutory reporting obligation.
In September 2025, the Board again deferred its reporting obligation and gave Iran time to change course. In November 2025, the Board adopted a resolution re-establishing the Director General’s reporting mandate required by the reimposed UN Security Council resolutions. The Board did not take the opportunity to report Iran’s non-compliance, again providing Iran with another opportunity to choose a path of cooperation and compliance. In March 2026, the Board met and once more deferred its reporting obligation.
When we last met, on the one-year anniversary of finding Iran noncompliant with its safeguards agreement, the Board adopted another resolution recalling the non-compliance finding of 2025 resolution and expressing deep regret at Iran’s continued failure to remedy its non-compliance, including its further reduction of legally required cooperation. Despite this clear reaffirmation that Iran remains in non-compliance, the Board again demonstrated remarkable patience and did not report this non-compliance to New York. At the same time, we reiterated our collective readiness to take further action, as required by the IAEA Statute, absent a change in Iranian behaviour.
Every step of the way, for more than a year, the Board has given Iran additional time to choose a different path. It has set out the steps, clearly and constructively, that Iran should take to improve its cooperation with the Agency. And every step of the way, the Board’s patience has not led to improved cooperation and compliance from Iran.
This is again evident in the Director General’s latest Board report, GOV/2026/50. Iran’s chosen response to the Board’s June call for a return to compliance has been, in this reporting period, to provide no access to any nuclear facilities and prevent all in-field verification activities. The Director General’s conclusion is stark: “the Agency’s lack of information and lack of access to facilities to verify is a matter of proliferation concern and compliance with the NPT Safeguards Agreement and needs to be addressed with the utmost urgency.” Given this, it is clear that simply allowing Iran more time is unlikely to result in a changed course.
Colleagues,
The resolution we put forward today is technical and balanced and serves one narrow purpose: to fulfil the Board’s statutory obligation. This resolution is not the end of the story. It does not close the Board’s consideration of this matter, nor does it prevent a diplomatic solution, should Iran choose that path. But any such deal can only be reached and sustained if Iran’s safeguards noncompliance is credibly addressed. We will continue to receive reports from the Director General, to deliberate on the contents of those reports, and to collectively call for Iran to implement its obligations and to allow inspectors to return.
If this resolution is adopted, our Board deliberations will be augmented by similar deliberations by our colleagues in New York, who have already been receiving the Director General’s reports as they relate to Iran’s failure to uphold its UNSCR obligations. And we hope that those further deliberations will serve to underscore the collective will of the broader international community to hold Iran to account so that it will fulfil its legal obligations under the NPT.
Colleagues,
The adoption of this resolution is necessary to defend the IAEA’s authority, necessary to fulfill the Board’s statutory mandate, necessary to protect the credibility of the global safeguards regime, and necessary to send the message that safeguards obligations are not optional. As the Director General has repeatedly made clear, Iran’s safeguards obligations cannot be unilaterally modified or suspended. And just as safeguards are not optional, neither is the Board’s mandate to report safeguards noncompliance when it occurs.
The United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom ask for your support for this resolution in keeping with the Board’s responsibilities and with the hope that in the future the Director General will report that Iran has changed course. When that day comes, the Board will have the opportunity to commend Iran for its actions and decide that it has returned to full compliance.
The Director General and his team have tirelessly worked over many years to carry out their mandate in Iran. They have done their job – it’s time that the Board do the same. It’s time to adopt this resolution.
Thank you, Chair.