Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is campaigning to become the next United Nations Secretary-General. Speaking at a London event, Grossi claimed the UN has been largely absent from the management of the world's most critical modern conflicts.

The UN's absence in Sudan, Ukraine, and Israel

During his remarks in London, Rafael Grossi asserted that the United Nations has failed to play a meaningful role in several high-stakes wars. Specifically, Grossi pointed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan, Israel's military operations against neighboring groups, and the tensions between Iran and the United States as evidence of the organization's current irrelevance.

According to the report, Grossi believes that interstate war has returned to Europe and Africa after years of relative absence . He argues that the UN could be a vital tool for resolution if warring nations believe that the Secretary-General can deliver better outcomes than unilateral action.

The June 2025 report and Operation Epic Freedom

Grossi's candidacy is heavily informed by his tenure at the International Atomic Energy Agency, where he took a confrontational approach toward Tehran.. In June 2025, Grossi presented a report to the IAEA Board of Governors stating that Iranian officials were non-cooperative and had attempted to sanitize nuclear locations, leading the IAEA to condemn Iran for violating international law for the first time in two decades.

This diplomatic escalation preceded a military one; as the report says, the US military subsequently launched Operation Epic Freedom under President Donald Trump, striking three major Iranian nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.. This sequence of events made Grossi a target of the Iranian government, with senior official Ali Larijani explicitly threatening to "settle accounts" with the IAEA chief once the war ended.

Grossi's plan to dismantle special rapporteur offices

To restore the UN's credibility, Rafael Grossi proposes a radical thinning of the organization's administrative layer. He claims the UN is currently hampered by a "bloated bureaucracy" where the core responsibilities of the Secretary-General have been outsourced to a proliferation of special rapporteurs and other secondary officials.

If elected, Grossi has vowed to shut down several of these offices to centralize authority. He argues that the Secretary-General holds a moral and statutory obligation to lead directly on international peace and security, rather than delegating these critical functions to bureaucratic intermediaries.

The contest between Rafael Grossi and Michelle Bachelet

The race to replace Antonio Guterres, whose term expires this year, has narrowed to five officially approved candidates. Grossi's primary competition is believed to be Michelle Bachelet, the former socialist president of Chile, representing a starkly different ideological approach to global governance.

Grossi currently holds the support of his home country,Argentina, which is led by the libertarian President Javier Milei. The final selection will require a recommendation from the UN Security Council followed by a confirmation vote from the General Assembly.

Who will the Security Council recommend to replace Antonio Guterres?

While Grossi has outlined his vision for reform, several critical questions remain regarding the feasibility of his platform . It is unclear whether the permanent members of the Security Council will support a candidate who has already alienated a major regional power like Iran, or if his plan to dismantle rapporteur offices will face a veto from member states that rely on those specific bureaucratic channels.

Furthermore, the source does not detail how Grossi intends to navigate the internal politics of the General Assembly, where his libertarian-backed Argentinian credentials may clash with the socialist leanings of supporters favoring Michelle Bachelet.