UN nuclear agency does not know where Iran's Isfahan enrichment plant is

Iran ties inspections to the threat of attack

Iran told the IAEA earlier in November that talks on resuming nuclear monitoring cannot go ahead while the country is under threat of military attack. A confidential IAEA report circulated to member states on Friday, 13 November 2026, says Tehran pointed to a series of public threats by the US president to commit further strikes, particularly against its nuclear facilities. Tehran argued that the present situation must first be resolved at its underlying causes and that the basic conditions for normal safeguards must be restored. Even so, Iran reaffirmed its commitment to resume full safeguards obligations once legal and practical conditions allow.

“until the root causes of the present situation are addressed and the essential requirements for normal safeguards implementation are restored”

Isfahan plant still unlocated

The IAEA says it is increasingly concerned about the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant, which Iran declared to the agency on 12 June 2025. The agency had planned to inspect the plant on 13 June 2025, but the bombing campaign began that day and made the visit impossible. Diplomats believe the plant sits in a tunnel network at Isfahan, though a senior diplomat said its whereabouts and status remain unknown. The agency does not know the plant's exact location, its status for safeguards purposes or whether it holds nuclear material, and Iran has not allowed inspectors to see its design plans.

“The Agency's lack of information about this nuclear material and access to facilities to verify it is a matter of serious proliferation concern”

More than 400 kilograms unaccounted for

The IAEA cannot verify the status of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which includes material close to weapons grade. Reports put the amount whose whereabouts are unknown at more than 400 kilograms. Before the June 2025 strikes, the agency had estimated that Iran held about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said in March that the agency believed a significant amount of Iran's most highly enriched uranium was in the Isfahan tunnel complex. The report asks Iran to report on the status of its enrichment plants and its uranium stock and to let inspectors return to the bombed sites.

Timeline of stalled access

Since the 2025 campaign, access has been limited to a single site. Inspectors visited the Bushehr nuclear power plant between 12 and 15 September 2026, the only Iranian facility the IAEA has inspected since June 2025. The reactor running at Bushehr uses Russian uranium enriched to 4.5%, a low level needed for power generation. On 27 October, Grossi urged Iran to cooperate without further delay to clear up outstanding questions.

Reward offer and next steps

Iran also wrote to the IAEA to express concern about a recent US offer of a reward of up to $20 million for information on its nuclear program. Tehran stressed that the agency's activities must stay confidential and that information on the program must not be disclosed, misused or exploited. The IAEA encouraged Iran to consider technical and gradual measures to allow inspectors to return. The IAEA says it is fully prepared to resume safeguards activities in Iran at short notice, but the report was issued ahead of the agency's Board of Governors meeting in the week of 16 November 2026.