IAEA votes to request Iran's nuclear material details

The United Nations nuclear monitoring body requested Iran to fully comply with the organization on Thursday, supplying "specific detail...

The United Nations nuclear monitoring body requested Iran to fully comply with the organization on Thursday, supplying "specific details" regarding its stockpile of uranium close to weapons-grade, and allowing its inspectors to visit the nation's nuclear facilities.

The development creates the groundwork for a possible intensification of tensions between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran, which has previously responded vigorously to comparable actions by the agency.

Nineteen nations within the IAEA's 35-member board of governors supported the resolution, as reported by diplomats in Vienna who requested to remain unnamed.

Russia, China, and Niger expressed opposition, while 12 nations chose to abstain and one did not cast a vote.

The proposal, introduced by France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States, states that Iran should submit the most recent details about its nuclear arsenal to the IAEA "immediately."

Iran slams decision

Speaking to journalists outside the IAEA boardroom, Iran's representative at the IAEA, Reza Najafi, criticized the resolution from Thursday, claiming it aimed to "apply excessive pressure on Iran" and spread a "false and deceptive account of the current circumstances."

He referred to the authors of the resolution as "deaf and blind," and stated that they adopt "an arrogant and confident stance" by assuming that Iran is "required to keep its usual cooperation with the agency even during attacks."

Najafi stated that Iran views the present circumstances as "far from normal," considering that protected sites in Iran containing "hazardous nuclear material" have been targeted.

Najafi stated that Iran is "completely ready for meaningful and productive interaction," but currently, "those who draft the resolutions have opted for an alternative path, based on the incorrect assumption that pressure and intimidation will lead to outcomes."

In response to queries from a journalist, Najafi mentioned that Iran will reveal its reply at a subsequent time.

June air strikes

Following the 12-day conflict in June, when Israel and the United States targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran has refused to allow IAEA inspectors entry to the impacted nuclear sites. This is despite Tehran's legal responsibility to assist the agency under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The agency has also been unable to confirm the status of the stockpile of nearly weapons-grade uranium since the June explosion, as stated in a secret IAEA report reviewed by AP last week.

As per the IAEA, Iran has a reserve of 440.9 kilograms of uranium that has been enriched to 60% purity, which is a brief, technical process from reaching weapons-grade levels of 90%.

The stockpile might enable Iran to create up to 10 nuclear bombs if it chooses to turn its program into a weapons initiative, warned IAEA director general Rafael Grossi, although he emphasized that this does not imply Iran currently possesses such a weapon.

Nuclear material that is extremely enriched should typically be inspected on a monthly basis, as per the IAEA's recommendations.

Related

• Head of the IAEA states that Iran's collaboration with nuclear inspectors remains "a work in progress"
• Iran has boosted its reserves of uranium close to weapons-grade levels prior to Israeli attacks, according to the IAEA.

Cutting ties

Iran halted all collaboration with the IAEA following the conflict with Israel. Grossi subsequently secured an agreement with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo at the beginning of September to restart inspections.

However, later that month, the UN re-imposed restrictions on Iran using the so-called snapback process outlined in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, prompting a strong reaction from Tehran and causing it to suspend the Cairo agreement.

The snapback mechanism revived six UN Security Council resolutions concerning Iran's nuclear and missile activities, reinstated economic sanctions on Iran, and included additional restrictions, such as halting all uranium enrichment.

Iran has consistently claimed its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, yet the IAEA and Western countries assert that Tehran maintained a structured nuclear weapons initiative until 2003.