The letter sent to Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, by H. E Dr.Abbas Araghchi Minister of Foreign Affairs – I.R.Iran, related to the continuous armed attacks by the U.S. and the Israeli regime against several safeguarded nuclear facilities and installations of the Islamic Republic of Iran as below:
3 April 2026
Excellency,
I am writing, as a follow-up to my letter S/2026/216 dated 23 March 2026, to bring to your attention the continuous armed attacks by the U.S. and the Israeli regime against several safeguarded nuclear facilities and installations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, notably the active Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, an installation devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes and operating under the IAEA’s comprehensive safeguards regime. These unlawful attacks expose the entire region to the risk of radioactive contamination with grave humanitarian and environmental consequences, and as such shall not be left unattended.
Within a span of nine months, two wars of aggression have been imposed upon the Islamic Republic of Iran, by the US, a depository of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and Israel, an outlaw regime that remains outside the framework of the NPT. In both instances, Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities were attacked and bombed, and with grave disappointment, the United Nations Security Council, the IAEA Board of Governors and its Director General have flatly failed from even condemning the illegal attacks, let alone undertaking effective measures within their mandate to prevent their recurrence.
Now the US Senior officials, who label international humanitarian law as “stupid,” have gained the audacity to state that nuclear facilities are among their targets. The United States’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations has openly expressed that attacks against the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is not off the table! Such recklessness is the direct consequence of the inaction of the United Nations and the Agency regarding the manifest acts of aggression by the United States and the Israeli regimes, which has only emboldened the aggressors. This course of unlawful attacks inflicted irreparable blow upon the credibility of the United Nations, the Security Council, the IAEA, and its safeguards system.
It is disturbing that since beginning of this criminal war on 28 February 2026, the following attacks have been made by the aggressors against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities and installations, without any outright condemnation being heard from relevant international bodies:
- On 1 March, the Natanz nuclear facility was attacked two times;
- On 17 March, a structure just 350 meters away from the active Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was attacked;
- On 21 March, several points in Natanz nuclear facility were bombed;
- On 24 March, a projectile struck within the broader perimeter of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site;
- On 27 March, Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site was attacked for the third time;
- On 27 March, the Heavy Water Production Plant at Khondab-Arak was attacked;
- On 27 March, Ardakan-Yazd Uranium Processing Site was bombed.
The aggressors’ repeated strikes in the vicinity of the active Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr is extremely alarming; their proximity to an active nuclear facility constitutes an intolerable escalation, entailing a grave risk of radiological release.
As already highlighted in my letter dated 23 March 2026, such attacks constitute a blatant violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 487 (1981), as well as the decisions and resolutions of the IAEA, including GC(53)/DEC/13 and GC(XXIX)/RES/443, GC(XXIX)/RES/444, and GC(XXXIV)/RES/533. These attacks also constitute a serious breach of the fundamental principles and rules of international humanitarian law. Article 56 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions provides absolute and heightened protection for works and installations containing dangerous forces, including nuclear electrical generating stations, expressly prohibiting their being made the object of attack where such action may result in the release of hazardous forces and severe consequences for the civilian population. The deliberate targeting of areas in the vicinity of such facilities, undertaken with full awareness of the inherent risk of radiological release, constitutes a manifest violation of these peremptory safeguards, thereby exposing civilian populations—both within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran and throughout the wider region—to grave and unprecedented danger.
Moreover, Article 55 of Additional Protocol I obligates parties to any armed conflict to ensure the protection of the natural environment against damage that is widespread, long-term, and severe. The methods and means of warfare employed by the U.S/Israeli regime’ aggression, give rise to a substantial risk of environmental devastation, including the potential for radioactive contamination of the Persian Gulf, the regional atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, and critical natural resources. Such harm would not be confined within national borders but would inevitably extend to neighboring States, thereby endangering public health, ecological balance, and the economic sustenance of the entire population.
Excellency,
Recent developments have demonstrated that transparency and cooperation with the Agency cannot, in and of themselves, be relied upon as guarantees of national security, the protection of national interests, or the inalienable rights of States to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
I reiterate my warning that, should the United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the IAEA remain indifferent in the face of manifest illegal attacks against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities, the Member States’ may lose confidence in the United Nations, the Agency, and the broader non-proliferation regime will be further eroded. The consequences of such inaction would not be confined to Iran.
Excellency,
I avail of this opportunity to also register the formal protest and profound concern of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the IAEA Director General’s recent statements, which constitute a serious departure from official mandate of his office and are in violation of the Statute of the IAEA and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA).
In the course of various media interviews conducted during March 2026, the Director General has disclosed sensitive safeguards-related information concerning Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. In light of past adverse experiences and the demonstrated misuse of confidential and sensitive information provided to the Agency, such conducts—should they contribute to or facilitate further attacks against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities—may engage the international responsibility of the Agency.
Furthermore, the Director General’s recent statement suggesting the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, which risks normalizing the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against a State Party to the NPT and its peaceful nuclear facilities, are deeply reprehensible and alarming. Such positions have resulted in a serious erosion to confidence in the integrity of the non-proliferation regime, IAEA safeguards system, and the impartiality of the Agency and its Director General.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly lodged formal protests and issued explicit warnings regarding this approach, both prior to and following the acts of aggressions of June 2025 and February 2026. Regrettably, there appears to be no indication that the Agency intends to rectify past errors or to adhere to a professional, impartial, and technically grounded approach consistent with the IAEA Statute and the CSA.
I would be grateful if this letter could be formally registered as a document of the United Nations Security Council and also circulated as an INFCIRC document of the IAEA.
