The IAEA board of directors passed a resolution criticizing Iran and urging it to step up cooperation with the United Nations watchdog.
Iran has denounced the decision by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to approve a resolution criticizing Tehran as “hasty and reckless,” Iranian state television reported.
The 35-nation board of governors of the U.N. nuclear watchdog passed a resolution Wednesday calling on Iran to step up cooperation with the watchdog and reverse its recent ban on inspectors.
“The decision by Western countries was hasty and reckless and will undoubtedly have a detrimental impact on the process of diplomatic engagement and constructive cooperation. [between Iran and the opposing parties]”state television said, citing Iran’s mission to the United Nations.
The motion presented by Great Britain, France and Germany – but opposed by China and Russia – before the IAEA board is the first of its kind since November 2022.
It comes amid an impasse over Iran's escalating nuclear activities and as 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 aggravating tensions in the Middle East -, 12 abstentions and one country that did not participate, three diplomats told the AFP news agency.
Although symbolic in nature at this stage, the no-confidence motion is intended to increase diplomatic pressure on Iran, with the option of potentially referring the matter to the UN Security Council.
Tehran had already threatened “a serious and effective response” and described the motion of no confidence as “devoid of any legal, technical and political basis.”
In the past, similar resolutions have led Tehran to retaliate by removing surveillance cameras and other equipment from its nuclear facilities and increasing its uranium enrichment activities.
The IAEA has said that Tehran has significantly stepped up its nuclear program and now has enough material to build several atomic bombs.
During discussions at the IAEA board of governors that began Monday in Vienna, European powers denounced Iran's expansion of its 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 address the issue, Britain, France and Germany said in a statement, known as the E3.
“The Board will not stand idly by when Iran questions 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 action by the Board is necessary.”
Iran has gradually distanced itself from its commitments under the nuclear deal it reached with world powers in 2015.
The landmark deal provided Iran with relief from Western sanctions in exchange for curbing 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 by Iran's official IRNA news agency on Wednesday, Tehran, Moscow and Beijing called on “Western countries to demonstrate political will… and take necessary measures to resume implementation” of the 2015 deal.
But the United States rejected that claim, saying Iran rejected a deal when it was possible and “continued activities that denied the possibility of such a deal, and now makes baseless statements to obfuscate history.”
