Iran Urges UN and IAEA to Condemn Alleged Strike on Darkhoveyn Nuclear Site

Iran’s Permanent Mission has accused the United States of carrying out a missile strike on the Darkhoveyn nuclear site in the early hours of July 19, describing the facility as a symbol of the country’s scientific self-sufficiency. The mission claimed the attack was the eighteenth strike on Iran’s safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities since the start of what Tehran calls joint US-Israeli aggression in June 2025. It said the strikes targeted civilian infrastructure because Iran had resisted external pressure and refused to accept unconditional surrender.

In a statement, the mission rejected the justification of the attacks under the banner of nuclear nonproliferation, calling such claims “lies, disinformation, and deception” intended to legitimize unlawful actions. It described the alleged strikes as serious violations of international law and warned that repeated attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities were becoming normalized due to what it characterized as the silence and inaction of relevant international institutions. The statement cautioned that such a trend could undermine global confidence in the peaceful use of nuclear technology and negatively affect international security and economic development.

Iran called on the United Nations Security Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the international community to strongly condemn the alleged attacks and take effective measures to uphold international law, the UN Charter, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the IAEA Statute. The mission also said that Iran’s Vice President and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran had written to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on July 19, urging the agency to take appropriate action against attacks that Tehran said endangered the credibility of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime.