UN Nuclear Watchdog Flags Iran, Syria, Ukraine as Key Tests

A team of IAEA experts visits Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine in June 2024.

Mounting nuclear risks—from Ukraine’s war-damaged power plants to Iran’s unresolved safeguards and renewed inspection efforts in Syria—are testing the global non-proliferation regime like never before, the UN’s nuclear watchdog warned on Wednesday.

Presenting the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) annual report to the UN General Assembly, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the past year underscored the importance of “knowing exactly the situation regarding nuclear material and activities” in countries of concern.

The IAEA is “working in a very dedicated way to restore the indispensable dialogue” with Iran over inspection regimes and uranium enrichment, aiming for a diplomatic solution.

“Inspections are proceeding in Iran,” he noted, “but there’s still some way to go before the Agency’s monitoring and verification activities can be fully restored.”

He highlighted a “technical understanding” reached in Cairo in July, aimed at restoring inspections, emphasising that “it is now up to us—Iran and ourselves—to carry on” to ensure the non-proliferation regime’s integrity in a region that has “seen enough suffering.”

Syria

Turning to Syria, Mr Grossi reported that his visit to Damascus earlier this year generated “positive conversations” and that the IAEA is “restoring our inspection work there” to clarify unresolved questions about past nuclear activities.

Successful engagement, he said, could help reintegrate Syria “positively and constructively” within the international community.

Ukraine

The IAEA chief also underscored the agency’s continuing on-site presence at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant—Europe’s largest—where “the outside [electrical] power supply had been interrupted,” posing a dangerous risk to reactor cooling systems.

The IAEA is monitoring the situation in collaboration with both Ukraine and Russia, which has helped “redress a very dangerous situation,” though he cautioned that conditions at the Russian-occupied site remain precarious.

Defending the Non-Proliferation Regime

Mr Grossi called for renewed international commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), describing it as an anchor of “stability and certainty in a world that badly needs it.”

He also highlighted the rapid growth of peaceful nuclear energy and the IAEA’s efforts to ensure public safety. Initiatives include training women workers in the nuclear industry through the Marie Curie and Lise Meitner fellowships and deploying nuclear technology for health, food security, and environmental protection.