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13-06-2025
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency has found Iran in breach of its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, according to a copy of the adopted resolution seen by the media. Iran responded with a statement condemning the move as politically motivated and “unjustified, groundless and cruel.”
The diplomatic confrontation Thursday came as the United States draws down military and diplomatic personnel across the Middle East amid fears of an Israeli strike on Iran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution cited “undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations” in Iran that constituted noncompliance and prevented the agency from being able “to verify that there has been no diversion of nuclear material required to be safeguarded.”
According to an Iranian state media readout, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran will “take appropriate measures in response to this action to protect the interests and rights of the Iranian nation” and its “peaceful nuclear energy.” The Thursday vote by the IAEA’s board of governors was expected following the agency’s report last month that Iran had amassed further stockpiles of near-weapons-grade uranium. The vote was put forward by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, according to the Iranian readout and the Associated Press.
The IAEA vote also comes as bilateral talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program increasingly appear stalled, leading to escalated regional tensions. This week, the Trump administration authorized the departure of nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Baghdad and the Pentagon authorized the departure of military families from elsewhere in the Middle East.
The sixth round of talks is scheduled for Sunday in Oman. American and Iranian negotiating teams are attempting to reach a deal that would curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sweeping sanctions relief. Last week, Iran’s supreme leader criticized the proposal that US negotiators had presented to their Iranian counterparts, calling the US position “nonsense.”
The central point of disagreement appears to be Iran’s right to enrich uranium domestically. Iranian officials have said the right to enrichment is a red line in the talks. The Trump administration’s position is less clear, at times insisting on zero enrichment and in other instances expressing support for strict limits on Iranian enrichment. They announced that Iran would respond by setting up a new uranium enrichment facility at a “secure location” and by replacing first-generation centrifuges used to enrich uranium with sixth-generation ones at the underground Fordo facility.
“Other measures are also being planned,” they added.
The resolution could further complicate talks between Tehran and Washington on a new nuclear agreement that Donald Trump hopes will see Iran end its enrichment program and prevent it developing a nuclear weapon.
A sixth round of talks is due to be held this Sunday in Oman. However, Trump said earlier this week that he was growing less confident of striking a deal.
He also held a reportedly tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long argued for a military rather than diplomatic approach. Israel considers the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat.
It comes amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, with the US advising non-essential staff at some of its embassies in the region to leave and reports saying that Israel is ready to launch strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran’s defence minister has warned that it would respond to any attack by targeting all US military bases “within our reach”. (Int’l News Desk)
