Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - Press Conference | United Nations

Press conference by Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on the Eleventh Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said the Review Conference of the NPT taking place “almost immediately” after the start of a war “that has been predicated on the possibility of one country developing nuclear weapons,” constitutes a challenge because, “there are sides in a war, and people obviously do not see eye to eye.” Taking questions from journalists in New York as the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) gets underway, Grossi said Iran had declared a new enrichment facility before the June 2025 United States and Israeli coordinated strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. He said, “we immediately requested access to it, which was granted, actually. And paradoxically, access was going to take place on June 13th, on the day the attacks commenced. So, we were not in a position to visit this place. So, we could not say at this point whether this place was simply an empty hall, or a place where already cascades and centrifuges were being placed for operation.” Asked about the possibility of finding consensus on Iran, Grossi said, “in the past, we would have resolutions adopted without a vote at this United Nations Security Council on Iran. Many, several. And then, equally, when the JCPoA was adopted. That common denominator among the membership and in particular the five permanent members of the Security Council is no longer there. It doesn't mean, and we should strive for that maybe, it doesn't mean that we cannot reconstruct some degree of consensus around what is happening there. But at the moment, unlike in the past, we don't have it.” Asked about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, he said, “the most important thing at the moment, is to ensure that there is no accident. It's not an easy task, I can assure you. We are at the moment negotiating the sixth ceasefire. We were able to achieve five already, and the sixth is necessary now to conduct some indispensable repairs on the external power lines that feeds the nuclear power plant there. So, this is our main objective at the moment.” Asked about Iran’s highly enriched uranium and whether it is still at the Isfahan site, the IAEA Director-General said, “there is no peace. There is only a ceasefire. And there is probably this difficulty in accessing. Until my inspectors can go and verify that there is no access, we cannot confirm that this is the situation. We are being told that this is the case. So, there are lots of things we tried last year with the Cairo Agreement to pave the way for a return of the inspectors there, but of course, with the new war episode this is still delayed.” Asked about the possibility reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (JCPoA) as a starting point for new negotiations, he said, “Iran in the past few years has had an exponential progress in its program. It has last generation centrifuges, it has different compounds in Esfahan, and we were talking about just new facilities. So, it's a completely different ball game, as one would say here in America. So JCPoA could not constitute a basis We need to look into something different.” The NPT Review Conference is being held from 27 April to 22 May 2026 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The NPT, in force since 1970 and extended indefinitely in 1995, is considered the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.


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