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The UN atomic watchdog’s board has for the first time in two decades declared that Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations as the US and European powers increase pressure on Tehran over its nuclear activities.
In a resolution drafted by the US, the UK, France and Germany, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors censured Iran, saying Tehran had failed to co-operate with the watchdog on “numerous” occasions and impeded its ability to “verify Iran’s declarations and the exclusively peaceful nature” of its programme.
The censure on Thursday will further raise tensions between the west and Tehran amid mounting fears of the potential for a military confrontation between the US, Israel and the Islamic republic.
Iran condemned the IAEA board’s resolution, saying it was “politically motivated”. It added that it would establish a new uranium enrichment facility and install additional advanced centrifuges, moves that would further inflame tension.
The US on Wednesday said that it had authorised the voluntary withdrawal of American dependants from US bases in the region. President Donald Trump said the personnel were “being moved out because it could be a dangerous place”.
The US and Iran have been engaging in indirect talks to resolve the nuclear crisis, with the sixth round due to be held in Muscat on Sunday. But Tehran refuses to accept a US demand that it stop enriching uranium domestically, insisting that is a red line, while accusing Washington of sending mixed signals.
Trump has repeatedly said that he wanted to secure an agreement to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons, but he has also warned that he would use military action if diplomacy fails.
He said this week he was “less confident” of a nuclear deal with Iran after Iranian officials criticised a US proposal for an interim deal.
Israel has pushed for strikes against Iran, believing the Islamic republic is at its most vulnerable in decades and it has an opportunity to attack. Last month, Trump warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Iran while Washington negotiates with Tehran over a nuclear deal.
The two leaders discussed the Iran talks in a telephone conversation on Monday.
Iran has warned that it would target US bases in the region if it is attacked. Major Gen Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s powerful revolutionary guards, said on Thursday that his forces were ready for all scenarios.
“We have experience in war, we are seasoned, we have built power, we have a strategy, we have identified the targets,” he said.
The IAEA board’s resolution relates primarily to a long-running investigation by the watchdog into undeclared nuclear materials found at three sites in the republic and its so-called “safeguards” obligations. It reflects mounting frustration among western powers about Iran’s lack of co-operation with the watchdog and the expansion of its programme.
The resolution said Iran had “failed to provide the co-operation required under its safeguards agreement, impeding agency verification activities, sanitising locations and repeatedly failing to provide the agency with technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at several undeclared locations”.
It called on Iran to “urgently remedy its non-compliance with its safeguards agreement by taking all steps deemed necessary by the agency and the board”.
The rising tensions underscore the sense of urgency for Iran and the US to reach a deal to avert the risk of military action that could trigger a war in the Middle East.
Iran has been consistently expanding its nuclear activity since Trump in 2018 abandoned the accord Tehran signed with the Obama administration and other world powers.
Although the IAEA resolution on Thursday is not directly tied to that 2015 accord, Iran suspects it is being used to lay the groundwork for the UK, France and Germany to refer Iran to the UN.
The three European powers — signatories to the 2015 deal — have threatened to trigger a so-called snapback process at the UN before an October deadline, which would reimpose international sanctions on Iran, if there is not a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Tehran has warned that it would leave the non-proliferation treaty if the mechanism is triggered.
Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful civilian use. But it raised the stakes by increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium by 50 per cent over the three months to May, the IAEA said in a report to its board members last month.
As of May 17, Iran possessed 408.6kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity, which is close to weapons grade, and it has the capacity to develop sufficient fissile material required for nuclear weapons within less than two weeks.
While condemning Iran, the members of the IAEA board also backed a diplomatic solution including the Iran-US talks.
“The censure is unsurprising and justified and strongly worded,” said Sanam Vakil, Middle East director at Chatham House. “But equally encourages diplomacy at a critical moment.”
