UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors finds Iran isn’t complying with its nuclear obligations
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, third from left, meets with Rafael Grossi, third from right, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Cairo, June 2. The IAEA called for more transparency from Iran after a leaked report from the agency showed Tehran had stepped up uranium enrichment. AFP-Yonhap
VIENNA — The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Thursday formally found that Iran isn’t complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year.
Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board, which represents the agency’s member nations, voted for the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.
Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, 11 abstained and two did not vote.
In the draft resolution seen by The Associated Press, the board of governors renews a call on Iran to provide answers “without delay” in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites.
Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.
The resolution was put forward by France, the U.K., Germany and the United States.
Iran’s government did not immediately respond to the vote, though it has threatened to retaliate immediately.
“Iran’s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement,” the draft resolution says.
Under the so-called safeguards obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses.
The draft resolution also finds that the IAEA’s “inability ... to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council, as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.”
The vote comes at a sensitive time as tensions in the region have been rising, with the U.S. State Department announcing on Wednesday that it is drawing down the presence of people who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East.
It also comes as the U.S. and Iran have been holding talks on Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Oman’s foreign minister said earlier Thursday that a sixth round of negotiations will be held in his country on Sunday.
The draft resolution makes a direct reference to the U.S.-Iran talks, stressing its “support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear program, including the talks between the United States and Iran, leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran’s nuclear activities, encouraging all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy.”