US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz says Iran must cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rather than blame other countries for its failure to meet nuclear inspection obligations, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Waltz has accused Tehran of failing to provide the information and access requested by the nuclear watchdog.

“Your lies are no good here,” Waltz tells the council, addressing the Iranian delegation directly and adding that the US and its partners would never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

He says IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had asked Iran for “answers, not speeches”.

However, Grossi told the same meeting that military attacks in June 2025 had forced the agency to suspend inspections and withdraw its personnel from Iran for safety reasons.

Grossi says Tehran had previously agreed to allow inspectors into its Isfahan enrichment facility, but “the commencement of the attacks prevented our inspector from going to the site”.

He has added that since June 2025, “we have not identified any activity to repair or reconstruct” nuclear facilities damaged in the 2025 and 2026 attacks, although physical inspections remained necessary to establish their condition.