Iran dismisses new IAEA report as 'biased and baseless'

A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday that if talks with the United States do not succeed, they will serve to make clear to the public that Washington is responsible for any failure.

“If negotiations lead nowhere, people will understand the US is to blame,” said Rouhollah Abbaspour, a member of parliament from Bouin Zahra. He added that Iran has always been open to talks based on national interests, but said past experience shows the US cannot be trusted to keep its word.

Abbaspour said Iran’s foreign policy should remain balanced, with negotiations pursued alongside efforts to strengthen regional and economic ties to reduce pressure from sanctions.

“These three locations, and other possible related locations, were part of an undeclared structured nuclear program carried out by Iran until the early 2000s,” the report said, adding that “some activities used undeclared nuclear material.”

The report comes at a delicate moment, as Tehran and Washington have engaged in multiple rounds of negotiations in recent weeks over a potential nuclear agreement that US President Donald Trump is seeking to finalize.

The document, obtained by Reuters, was prepared following a November request by the IAEA’s Board of Governors.

UN nuclear agency flags sharp rise in Iran’s high-level uranium

The IAEA, in a separate report sent to member states on Saturday, said a sharp rise in Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. As of May 17, Iran held 408.6 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, an increase of 133.8 kilograms since February. Material enriched to that level is a short technical step from weapons-grade purity.

“Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching to this level,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has repeatedly said. On Saturday, he again urged Iran to cooperate “fully and effectively with the agency.”

Both IAEA reports said Iran’s high-level enrichment was “of serious concern,” noting it is the only country enriching to that level without having nuclear weapons.

Western powers move toward censure

Western governments are also preparing a resolution that would formally declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation commitments for the first time since 2005. Reuters cited diplomats on Friday as saying the United States will lead the drafting of the motion, to be submitted at the board’s quarterly meeting beginning June 9.

“We expect the comprehensive report to be tough, but there were already no doubts over Iran not keeping its non-proliferation commitments,” a European official told Reuters.

The last time the IAEA board took such action, in 2005, it led to Iran’s referral to the UN Security Council and triggered a round of international sanctions.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded that Iran carried out nuclear activities using undeclared material at three previously unreported sites—Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, and Turquzabad—according to a confidential report circulated to member states, according to Reuters on Saturday.

The agency said Iran repeatedly failed to provide credible answers and had sanitized locations under scrutiny. It also found evidence that Iran retained unknown nuclear material or contaminated equipment at Turquzabad as recently as 2018.

UN nuclear agency flags sharp rise in Iran’s high-level uranium

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reiterated his urgent call for Iran to fully cooperate, citing lingering concerns over past activities and public statements by former Iranian officials referencing nuclear weapons capabilities. However, the report noted that the agency has no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear weapons program in Iran.

A separate IAEA report sent to member states on Saturday said that Iran’s overall stockpile of enriched uranium rose to 9,247.6 kg, with quantities of uranium enriched to 60% now exceeding 400 kg—well above the threshold the IAEA defines as enough for one nuclear weapon if further enriched.

Both IAEA reports said Iran’s high-level enrichment was “of serious concern,” noting it is the only country enriching to that level without having nuclear weapons.

A senior Iranian official said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump “begged” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for negotiations, describing the move as “unprecedented.”

“How is it that the president of a major power writes a letter and pleads for negotiations? This is unprecedented,” said Gholamhossein Mohammadi Golpayegani, Khamenei’s chief of staff, speaking at a public event in Tehran.

Golpayegani added that Iran’s supreme leader routinely overshadows visiting dignitaries. “I’ve seen it myself — no matter who the guest is, the Leader speaks with such command that he stands a head above them. He is a scholar, a poet, a geographer, a historian — unmatched.”

He also reiterated Iran’s defiance in the face of Western pressure over uranium enrichment. “They want to tell us not to enrich uranium — that’s utter nonsense,” he said.

Iran’s nuclear chief said on Saturday that indirect negotiations with the United States have made “some progress,” but dismissed any demand to eliminate uranium enrichment as “a disturbed dream” meant for Israeli audiences.

“Talk of zero enrichment is mostly for the Zionist community,” Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami said during a visit to northern Iran. “These are rumors with no bearing on the realities of the talks.”

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