Iranian Regime Censured Over Insufficient Cooperation With IAEA Nuclear Probe

The flag of Iran in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters in Vienna on May 24, 2021. (Michael Gruber/Getty Images)

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has censured Iran’s government over its failure to cooperate with the international fact-finding efforts.

In a resolution drafted on Thursday by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was “essential and urgent” that Iran explain the origin of the uranium particles found at three undeclared sites and more generally give the agency all the answers it requires.

Resolution of the so-called “safeguards” investigations is critical to the U.N. agency, which seeks to ensure parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are not secretly diverting nuclear material which they could use to make a weapon.

While it was not the first resolution the board has passed against Iran on the issue—another was adopted in June—its wording was stronger and hinted at a future diplomatic escalation.

“Iran must now provide the necessary cooperation, no more empty promises,” the United States said in its statement to the board shortly before the resolution was adopted with 26 votes in favour, five abstentions and two countries absent, according to diplomats in the meeting.

Only Russia and China voted against.

If Iran fails to cooperate, the board is prepared to take further action, said the statement, including under Article XII.C of the Agency’s Statute which lays out options referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council for not complying with its nuclear obligations.

Iran tends to bristle at such resolutions and it remained to be seen what action it would take. In June, Iran removed IAEA monitoring equipment including surveillance cameras installed under its 2015 deal with world powers to curb its disputed uranium enrichment programme.

On Thursday, it indicated it would call off a meeting with the IAEA due to be held this month to end the impasse. The IAEA responded by saying it hoped the meeting would take place.

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Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Mohsen Naziri, said, “The political goals of the founders of this anti-Iranian resolution will not be realized but it could impact the constructive relations between Tehran and the Agency,” according to Iran’s state media.

“Iran has not done and will not do anything that the agency is not aware of,” Mohammad Eslami, chief of Iran’s atomic energy organisation was quoted as saying by the semi-official ILNA news agency.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military intelligence chief has claimed that the Iranian regime is approaching capacity to enrich uranium to 90-percent, which is the threshold widely deemed to be “weapons grade.”

Reuters contributed to this report.