Iran Statement at IAEA BoG: Agenda item 9

Statement by the Delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran before the IAEA Board of Governors - Agenda Item 9 :“Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East” (Vienna 10 September 2026)

In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Mr. Chair,

Fifty-two years have passed since Iran first proposed the establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East, an initiative intended to promote peace and security in the region. Now, half a century later, it is both timely and necessary to ask a fundamental question: why has this initiative not achieved its intended objectives?

The answer is obvious: despite the best efforts of all regional countries to abide by the rules of international conduct, one regime has neither adhered to nor shown any willingness to adhere to the norms, rules, and principles of international law.

As reflected in the Director General’s report, all regional countries are parties to the NPT and concluded their CSAs, but the Israeli regime has yet to comply.

For decades, the IAEA General Conference and Board of Governors as well as the UN General Assembly, Security Council, and the NPT Review Conferences, have urged the Israeli regime to join the NPT and to place its nuclear facilities under the comprehensive safeguards. Yet, that regime has brazenly defied all such demands.

Additionally, it possesses hundreds of nuclear weapons, threatens to use them, and has a dark record of conducting unlawful attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities and assassinating nuclear scientists in the region and beyond. This regime is doing so, because it continues to enjoy the all-out political support of certain Western States, making those States complicit in all those crimes and violations.

Distinguished Collogues

Lasting peace and security cannot be achieved through the selective application of international law, discrimination, impunity, or double standards. Accordingly, the current unbalanced and discriminatory application of safeguards in the Middle East is no longer acceptable.

A situation in which certain States of the region are subjected to the most comprehensive safeguards and verification arrangements, while an outlaw regime continues to bullyingly refuse placing its nuclear facilities and activities under the comprehensive safeguards is not sustainable, and must therefore come to an end.

For its part, the Islamic Republic of Iran will never permit its national security, sovereignty, vital interests, and inherent rights of the Iranian people to be compromised as the consequence of the selective and discriminatory application of international norms in our region.

Should the current situation persist, it would not be surprising if States in the region were to question whether continued adherence to the highest standards of safeguards implementation serves their security interests. Such an outcome would undermine confidence in the international nuclear non-proliferation norms and jeopardize the credibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of the IAEA safeguards system. This must be avoided.

I thank you, Mr. Chair.