China
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
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France
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
On 9 March 2022, the European Union recalled the IAEA 2009’s decision and the IAEA General Conference Resolution GC(43)/533 which recognises that an armed attack or a threat of armed attack on a safeguarded nuclear facility, in operation or under construction, would create a situation in which the UN Security Council would have to act immediately in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter. In this statement and other declarations, France has endorsed IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s Seven Indispensable Pillars of Nuclear Safety and Security,’ which includes the principle that ‘the physical integrity of the nuclear facilities, whether it is reactors, fuel ponds, or radioactive waste stores, must be maintained’.
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
On 22 September 2022, France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Canada, Korea, Switzerland, the United States and European Union delivered a joint statement which notes the 2009 IAEA General Conference unanimous decision GC(53)/DEC/13 entitled “ Prohibition of armed attack or threat of attack against nuclear installations, during operation or under construction” which recognised the importance attached to safety, security and physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes as well as IAEA General Conference resolutions GC(XXIX)/RES/444 and GC(XXXIV)/RES/533 regarding armed attacks or threats against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes.
In 2024, it condemned Russia’s illegal occupation of and strikes on the Zaporizhzhia power plant, described as a flagrant violation of the IAEA’s seven pillars.
In addition, the French government indicates that it contributed 3.8 million euros in extrabudgetary funds to the IAEA specifically to support nuclear safety and security at Ukrainian nuclear facilities since the beginning of the war.
With regards to the military strikes against Iran in 2025 and 2026, France did not refer to the IAEA’s decision, but mentioned that ‘it did not participate in, nor support the strikes against the Iranian nuclear programme, emphasizing instead the urgent need for diplomatic engagement as the only option capable of ensuring a lasting response to the Iranian nuclear issue.’
Sources
EU Statement on safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine as delivered at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on 9 March 2022, European Union External Action Service, 9 March 2022, https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eu-statement-safety-security-and-safeguards-implications-situation-ukraine-delivered-international_en
Joint statement on the safety and security of civil nuclear facilities in armed conflicts, 21 September 2022, Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, 22 September 2022, https://www.esteri.it/it/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/comunicati/2022/09/joint-statement-on-the-safety-and-security-of-civil-nuclear-facilities-in-armed-conflicts-21-september-2022/
Statement of the G7 Non-Proliferation Directors Group on a Nuclear Safety and Security Framework for Ukraine (15 Mar. 2022), France Diplomacy, 15 March 2022, https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/security-disarmament-and-non-proliferation/news/2022/article/statement-of-the-g7-non-proliferation-directors-group-on-a-nuclear-safety-and
France call on Russia to abide by the resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors, Permanent mission of France to the United Nations in New York, 15 April 2024, https://onu.delegfrance.org/russia-once-again-france-call-on-russia-to-abide-by-the-resolutions-of-the-iaea
Iran must comply with its non-proliferation obligations, Permanent mission of France to the United Nations in New York, 19 September 2025, https://onu.delegfrance.org/iran-must-comply-with-its-non-proliferation-obligations
Working paper submitted by France. France’s support for the International Atomic Energy Agency. NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/WP.11. 5 March 2025. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n25/060/12/pdf/n2506012.pdf#:~:text=France%20is%20one%20of%20the,Technical%20Cooperation%20Fund%20in%202025.
Russia
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
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United Kingdom
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
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United States
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
Prior to the current Review Cycle, the United States did not conduct or threaten armed attacks against any civilian nuclear installations.
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
U.S. military action against Iran in 2025––particularly its strikes against the Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, the Natanz Nuclear Facility, and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, all three of which were under IAEA safeguards––directly contravened GC(53)/DEC/13. The fact that Iran was itself in breach of its safeguards obligations does not mitigate the prohibition on armed attack under the GC decision, nor does the decision offer exceptions for pre-emptive or preventatives strikes.