Chair,

On Saturday night, the United States conducted precision military strikes to end Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, in support of Israel’s right to defend itself from attack by the Iranian regime and the existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program.

Our actions were limited to three locations associated with Iran’s uranium enrichment program, a program that started in secret as part of a covert nuclear weapons effort prior to 2004, and that has, over the past 20 years, brought Iran unacceptably close to a nuclear weapons breakout capability.

The urgent threat from Iran’s enrichment program cannot be ignored or explained away.  As reported by the Director General less than one month ago, Iran has since December 2024 significantly accelerated its production of uranium enriched to 60 percent and has amassed a stockpile of over 400kg of material enriched to that level.  This massive stockpile is sufficient for several nuclear weapons and represents an urgent proliferation concern.  As we have consistently stated, there is no credible civilian justification for Iran to enrich to that level, let alone accumulate such a large stockpile.  The only countries enriching to this level are those that possess nuclear weapons, a fact that Iranian officials have themselves highlighted.

Likewise, for a country like Iran that has only a single operating nuclear power plant, fueled by another Member State, there is no credible civilian justification for operating two large uranium enrichment plants – and an announced third plant – buried deep underground, with highly flexible cascades of advanced centrifuges, optimized to produce highly enriched uranium and positioned to enrich all the way to weapons-grade levels with little to no notice.

President Trump has been clear that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, and the grave and growing threat to Israel and the region created by Iran’s enrichment program necessitated strong and decisive action.  The targets were legitimate, and our actions were taken with careful consideration for the safety of the Iranian people and Agency inspectors present in the country.  We did not take this action lightly, and we are confident that it is consistent with the inherent right of self-defense under the UN Charter.  Nothing in the IAEA Statute prevents States from taking legitimate steps for their own or collective self-defense.

Let us also be clear, the Director General and the IAEA had no advance knowledge of our actions and are in no way responsible for the events that have transpired over the past several days.  Any allegation that the IAEA played any role in our actions is baseless and should be rejected.  We fully support the IAEA’s critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the IAEA for their dedication and professionalism in carrying out their essential mandate at this delicate time.  We call on Iran to fully provide for the safety and security of IAEA inspectors and staff currently in Iran and for the Director General to immediately report any actions taken by Iran that may place IAEA staff in danger.

Chair,

The United States remains committed to achieving lasting peace and security in the region, including and especially for the people of Iran.  We also firmly support the global nonproliferation regime and the IAEA’s global verification efforts.  We again call upon Iran to refrain from any further escalation in hostilities, and to negotiate immediately and in good faith on an agreement that would sustainably address international concerns related to its nuclear activities.

Thank you.