France, Britain, and Germany on Monday, June 3, in a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, criticized Iran’s lack of cooperation with the agency.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) confirmed the submission of this critical resolution against Iran, quoting two diplomats.
Reuters also reported that in the draft submitted to the Board of Governors on Monday, it once again called for clarification about the uranium particles found at three undeclared sites in Iran, similar to two years ago.
The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported last week that the United States did not support the submission of this resolution against Iran.
Reports indicate that France, Britain, and Germany, the three European countries that are part of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), distributed a draft resolution against Iran to the members of the IAEA Board of Governors last week.
The five-day meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors began on Monday at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, and it is expected to focus specifically on the status of Iran’s nuclear program.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Monday at the start of the Board of Governors meeting that despite his visit to Tehran last month, he is deeply regretful that Iran has not yet reversed its decision to bar the agency’s experienced inspectors.
According to Mr. Grossi, Iran has increased its 60% enriched uranium stockpile and has halted its commitments under the Additional Protocol for over three years, during which the agency has been unable to access supplementary information in Iran and has lost continuous knowledge about the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors, heavy water, and uranium ore concentrate in Iran.
The IAEA Director General clarified that no progress has been made in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, Iran has not provided credible technical explanations regarding uranium particles of human origin found at the Varamin and Turquzabad sites, and it has not informed the agency about the current locations of nuclear materials and equipment contaminated with uranium particles.
Diplomats told the Wall Street Journal last week that if a resolution against Iran is not issued by the IAEA Board of Governors, the agency’s authority as a nuclear watchdog will be weakened, and the West’s credibility in countering potential proliferation threats will be undermined.
These diplomats emphasized that the three European countries believe the time has come to take a firm stance against Tehran’s continued non-compliance with non-proliferation commitments.
The last time the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution against Iran was 18 months ago, calling for immediate cooperation from the Iranian regime with the agency, particularly in clarifying the discovery of uranium traces at three undeclared sites.
In confidential reports sent to its members and a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, May 27, the IAEA states that no progress has been made in the past year on implementing the provisions of the March 4, 2023, agreement.
Tehran also continues to prevent many senior IAEA uranium enrichment experts from entering the country.
Three diplomats previously told Reuters that the draft resolution submitted by the three European countries to the Board of Governors focuses on investigations into Iran’s nuclear program and likely calls for Rafael Grossi to provide a “comprehensive report” on Iran’s nuclear activities, which would be more extensive than the usual quarterly reports of the agency.
In its latest quarterly report, the IAEA says that Iran has increased its 60% enrichment level to such an extent that if enrichment continues to the 90% level, it will have the capacity to produce three nuclear bombs.
Western powers say that such a level of enrichment has no civilian justification, and the IAEA has also stated that no other country enriches uranium to this level without the intention of building a nuclear weapon.
The Iranian regime claims that it does not intend to produce nuclear bombs and that its nuclear program is peaceful.
One day after Rafael Grosi’s statements regarding the status of the Iranian regime’s nuclear program and the possibility of reviewing and approving a resolution regarding Iran at the current meeting of the Council of Governors, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, said, “If a resolution is approved or political pressure is applied, we will definitely react, and we have announced this.”
During his trip to Shahr-e Kord on June 4, Eslami stated, “We are in the phase of reducing commitments, and the criterion for us is the strategic action law of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to lift sanctions.”
