UN nuclear inspectors see no evidence Iran repaired US-bombed sites

NEW YORK – The United Nations nuclear watchdog said it has not detected any efforts by Iran to rebuild nuclear facilities damaged in US and Israeli strikes over the past two years, even as Tehran continues to block inspectors’ access to most of its atomic sites.

“Since June 2025, we have not identified any activity to repair or reconstruct any of the facilities damaged in the military attacks of 2025 and 2026,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN Security Council on Oct 27.

Grossi’s remarks undercut US President Donald Trump’s narrative that launching a new war against Iran in late February was necessary to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions.

The President has repeatedly said he Is weighing renewed strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections. 

The assessment echoes a conclusion that former US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard included in written testimony before a congressional committee earlier in 2026.

She wrote that Iran’s uranium enrichment programme had been “obliterated” in US and Israeli strikes in June 2025, and that there “has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability”.

At the same time, the IAEA’s ability to assess Iran’s nuclear activities remains constrained by its lack of access to most of the country’s atomic sites.

Grossi reiterated that inspectors have been unable to verify the status of Iran’s nuclear material – including the previously declared 440kg of uranium enriched up to 60% – and called on Tehran to grant renewed access.

“As at today the IAEA has not been able to verify that there has been no diversion of nuclear material required to be safeguarded,” he said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed it had destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities, but offered little evidence to back up its claims. 

Trump started the current war against Iran because he said he needed to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, something that most experts said the Islamic Republic was years away from. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has offered other explanations for the war, including that Washington had to act before Israel struck Iran and sparked retaliation against the US.

He’s also said Iran was building up its ballistic missile and drone capability as a conventional “shield” around its nuclear programme. BLOOMBERG