Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West has taken another dramatic turn, as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed that enriched nuclear material remains buried beneath the rubble of facilities bombed during this summer’s 12-day war with Israel. In a televised interview on September 12, 2025, Araghchi stated, “All of our material is... under the rubble of the bombed facilities,” according to AFP. This stark admission comes as Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization scrambles to assess the condition and accessibility of its stockpile, which, as of June 13, 2025, included approximately 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent—just a step below the 90 percent threshold needed for atomic weapons.
The revelation arrives on the heels of a new cooperation framework between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), struck on September 9. This agreement is meant to reset relations after Tehran suspended all ties with the nuclear watchdog following the Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear sites in June. The war, brief but intense, left several facilities damaged and sent shockwaves through the region and beyond, raising urgent questions about the fate of Iran’s nuclear material and the future of international oversight.
Araghchi was clear that the new framework will only grant access to UN inspectors under strict conditions. “Access to undamaged facilities will be considered on a case by case basis by the Supreme National Security Council,” he said, referencing Iran’s top security body. When it comes to the bombed sites, the situation is even more tangled. “For now no action is taken until Iran carries out the necessary measures related to environmental and safety concerns,” Araghchi emphasized, adding that “no inspections are currently on the agenda.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, speaking on September 10, confirmed that the new agreement “includes all facilities and installations in Iran” and “provides for a clear understanding of the procedures for inspections.” But Grossi also admitted in late June that, after the war, the IAEA had lost track of the precise location of Iran’s enriched material. This admission, coupled with Araghchi’s comments, has only heightened the sense of uncertainty swirling around Iran’s nuclear program.
The international community is watching closely. Western countries, particularly Britain, France, and Germany, have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons—a charge Tehran has consistently denied, insisting its nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful. Nevertheless, the presence of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity is uncomfortably close to weapons-grade, and the opacity following the June conflict has only fueled anxieties in Western capitals.
In late August, these three European powers initiated steps to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran, which had been lifted a decade ago under the now-moribund 2015 nuclear deal. They gave Tehran one month to negotiate before the sanctions snap back into force. Iran has slammed this move as “illegal,” and Araghchi was blunt about the consequences: if the sanctions return, “the recent agreement with IAEA will no longer be valid.”
Tehran’s approach to inspections has become notably more guarded since the war. The Supreme National Security Council’s role as the final arbiter for access means that even undamaged sites—such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran—are not guaranteed to be open to international inspectors. Each request will be weighed individually, with national security and political considerations front and center. For the bombed facilities, the hurdles are even higher. Iran insists that no action will be taken until it completes its own environmental and safety assessments, a process with no clear timeline.
The IAEA, for its part, is trying to keep the lines of communication open. Grossi’s focus on a “clear understanding” of inspection procedures is an attempt to rebuild trust, but the agency’s leverage is limited. Without access to the damaged sites, and with the fate of the enriched uranium in limbo, the world’s nuclear watchdog is left largely in the dark—at least for now.
The political stakes are enormous. The specter of renewed UN sanctions hangs over Iran’s already strained economy, and the threat to suspend the IAEA agreement if sanctions are reinstated could push the situation into even more dangerous territory. For Western governments, the risk is that Iran, feeling cornered, might accelerate its nuclear activities or further restrict international oversight.
This diplomatic standoff is playing out against a broader backdrop of mistrust and mutual accusations. While Western countries point to Iran’s enrichment levels and the lack of transparency as evidence of nefarious intent, Iran counters that its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is being unfairly targeted for political reasons. “We have carried out a great deal of activity and I can now say that we have reached the point where the exchange of the French prisoners in Iran is now approaching its final stages,” Araghchi said in a separate context, highlighting Tehran’s willingness to negotiate on other fronts—even as nuclear tensions simmer.
Meanwhile, the human dimension of the standoff is also in the spotlight. France is preparing to lodge a complaint at the International Court of Justice over the detention of two French citizens, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were arrested in Iran in May 2022 and accused of spying for Israel. Their families have described their situation as increasingly desperate, and they are among about 20 Europeans currently detained in Iran. The fate of these prisoners is now intertwined with the broader diplomatic dance, as Iran seeks the release of Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian woman held in France on charges of promoting terrorism through social media.
As the clock ticks down to the European deadline for new sanctions, all eyes are on Tehran and Vienna. Will Iran allow inspectors back in before the month is up? Will the IAEA regain access to the bombed sites and the buried uranium? Or will the standoff harden, pushing both sides further apart and raising the risk of a new crisis?
For now, the only certainty is uncertainty itself. Iran’s enriched uranium remains under the rubble, and the world waits—anxiously—to see what comes next.
