The Board of Governors adopted a resolution urging Tehran to allow inspections and provide answers on enriched uranium, amid Western concerns over potential military aims.
VIENNA — The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, adopted a resolution on Thursday urging Iran to “fully and punctually comply with its legal obligations,” as required by previous UN Security Council rulings on the Iranian nuclear program.
The text was approved by a majority of the 35 member countries of the body in Vienna, with 19 votes in favor, 3 against, and 12 abstentions. The resolution was introduced by the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
The resolution notes that, following the bombings carried out last June by Israel and the United States against Iranian nuclear facilities, IAEA experts continue to lack access to those sites and have no information on approximately 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, material capable of being used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Therefore, the resolution demands that Iran provide “full and rapid cooperation” to the IAEA, including the delivery of all information and access requested by the Agency.
The text also requires IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to submit quarterly reports on the Iranian nuclear situation. These documents must provide details on the verification of uranium stockpiles in Iran, specifying locations, quantities, chemical forms, enrichment levels, and the inventory of centrifuges and associated equipment.
Representing the sponsoring countries, UK Ambassador Corinne Kitsell declared before the Board: “The message is clear: Iran must resolve its safeguards issues without delay.” Kitsell stressed the need for Iran to restore supervision and facilitate adequate access and answers, with the aim of allowing the agency to rebuild international trust.
Conversely, a joint statement by China, Russia, Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe described the resolution as “counterproductive” and a “provocation.” The statement concluded that “any provocative action—such as yet another resolution—would jeopardize and could even nullify the considerable efforts made by the Director General and Iran to advance dialogue and cooperation,” presented prior to the vote.
During the opening of the meeting on Wednesday, Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized to the press that his inspectors need access to the facilities attacked in June: “If a country, which has an inspection regime (with the IAEA), informs us that something has been destroyed, we must see it,” he affirmed.
To date, the agency’s experts have not received permission from Iranian authorities to verify nuclear materials at seven facilities. Some of these, such as the uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow or the nuclear research center at Isfahan, which were targets of the attacks, remain partially destroyed. Grossi specified: “If there is (nuclear) material there, then we need access to it,” ruling out the need to modify inspection protocols for militarily attacked facilities.
At the center of the international debate, according to the IAEA, is the location of uranium enriched to 60%, a level close to that required for the manufacture of nuclear weapons. The Iranian government insists that it does not seek to acquire atomic weapons, while Israel, the United States, and other Western powers maintain their suspicions regarding the intentions of Iran’s nuclear program.
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