The IAEA board passed a resolution criticizing Iran and urging it to step up cooperation with the United Nations watchdog.
Iran has denounced the decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors to pass a resolution criticizing Tehran as “hasty and reckless,” Iranian state TV reported.
The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board of governors approved a resolution on Wednesday calling on Iran to step up cooperation with the watchdog and reverse a recent ban on inspectors.
“The decision by Western countries was hasty and reckless and will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the process of diplomatic engagement and constructive cooperation. [between Iran and the opposing parties],” state TV said citing Iran’s mission to the United Nations.
The motion presented by Great Britain, France and Germany – but opposed by China and Russia – at the IAEA board is the first of its kind since November 2022.
The decision comes amid an impasse over the escalation of Iran’s nuclear activities and at a time when Western powers fear Tehran may be trying to develop a nuclear weapon, a claim Iran has consistently denied.
The resolution was approved by 20 votes in favor – including the United States, which was initially reluctant for fear of worsening tensions in the Middle East – with 12 abstentions and one country not participating, three diplomats told the AFP news agency.
Although symbolic in nature at this stage, the motion of censure aims to increase diplomatic pressure on Iran, with the option of potentially referring the issue to the UN Security Council.
Tehran had already threatened “a serious and effective response” and classified the motion of censure as “devoid of any legal, technical or political basis”.
In the past, similar resolutions have led Tehran to retaliate by removing surveillance cameras and other equipment from its nuclear facilities and stepping up its uranium enrichment activities.
The IAEA said Tehran has significantly stepped up its nuclear program and now has enough material to build several atomic bombs.
During debates at the IAEA board of governors that began on Monday in Vienna, European powers denounced the expansion of Iran’s nuclear program “to alarming levels” as “unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons program.”
‘Strong and renewed message’
According to the IAEA, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state that enriches uranium to the high level of 60 percent – just below weapons grade – while continuing to accumulate large uranium reserves.
The resolution sent “a strong and renewed message of support” for the IAEA’s efforts to resolve the issue, Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, said in a statement.
“The Council will not sit idly by as Iran challenges the foundations of the non-proliferation system and undermines the credibility of the international safeguards regime,” they added.
“We hope that Iran will take this opportunity to resolve these outstanding issues so that no further Council action is necessary.”
Iran has gradually broken away from its commitments under the nuclear agreement it signed with world powers in 2015.
The landmark deal provided Iran with relief from Western sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its atomic program, but collapsed after the unilateral US withdrawal under then-President Donald Trump in 2018.
Efforts to revive the agreement have so far failed.
In a joint statement cited Wednesday by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, Tehran, Moscow and Beijing called on “Western countries to demonstrate political will… and take the necessary measures to resume implementation” of the 2015 agreement.
But the US rejected that claim, saying Iran refused a deal when it was possible and “continued activities that denied the possibility of such a deal, and now makes unsubstantiated statements to obfuscate the story.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
