The US, Britain, France and Germany have drafted a resolution to send Iran’s nuclear case to the UN Security Council. The move raises pressure on Tehran even as diplomats say veto politics may blunt any UN punishment.

The United States, Britain, France and Germany have drafted a resolution that could be taken up by the Board of Governors of the UN nuclear watchdog to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over what diplomats describe as a failure to comply with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

The move, still under negotiation, would shift the matter to the Security Council, which can impose further legally binding steps such as sanctions or asset freezes. However, diplomats said specific punitive action by the UN is unlikely as Russia and China, both allies of Iran, hold veto power in the council.

Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally required to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful use. The push for a referral has been under consideration since June 2025, when the IAEA board formally found Iran in non-compliance with its obligations for the first time in 20 years, one day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The draft resolution, seen by The Associated Press and reported earlier by Reuters, asks IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi “to transmit this resolution and the previously adopted resolutions to all Members of the Agency and to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IAEA Statute.”

It also “stresses its support for a diplomatic solution to the challenges posed by the Iranian nuclear programme and its implications for regional peace and stability leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran’s nuclear activities, and encourages all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy.”

Diplomats said the resolution has not yet been formally submitted to the board and could still change as members may suggest amendments. Once it is formally submitted, it is expected to be put to a vote at next week’s IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna.

A senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the referral had been held back to allow one last push for diplomacy. The official said the board now had to act under its mandate because Iran had not cooperated and communication was no longer taking place.

Since Israel and the US struck Iran’s nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June 2025, Iran has not allowed IAEA inspectors access to sites affected by the attacks, despite its legal obligation to cooperate. The agency has also been unable to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the June bombing. It said this had been made much more difficult by more than six months of war that the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28, including strikes carried out by both Washington and Tehran this week.

In a confidential report seen by the AP, the IAEA warned on Tuesday that Iran’s continued refusal to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites and verify nuclear material amounted to a “proliferation risk” that needed to be “addressed with the utmost urgency.” According to the agency, Iran has a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms, or 972 pounds, of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

Grossi had warned in an interview with the AP last year that such a stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs if it chose to weaponise its programme, while adding that this did not mean Iran had such a weapon.

The IAEA also said there had been no progress in its long-running investigation into uranium traces found by inspectors at several undeclared sites in Iran. Western officials suspect the traces could add to evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons programme until 2003.

Iran has said it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and that its programme is entirely peaceful. With the draft resolution still being negotiated, the IAEA board is now set to decide whether to escalate the matter to the UN Security Council while also backing continued diplomacy.