IAEA BoG passes resolution pressing Iran for nuclear info, inspections

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 13:51

The IAEA Board of Governors passes a resolution urging Iran to provide immediate answers and access to nuclear sites bombed by the US and Israeli occupation forces.

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International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a joint press briefing with Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami in Tehran, Iran, on November 14, 2024 (AP)

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Thursday calling on Iran to provide “without delay” full information regarding its enriched-uranium stockpile and the status of nuclear sites attacked by "Israel" and the United States five months ago, during the 12-day aggression on the country.

Diplomats present at the closed-door Vienna meeting confirmed that the measure renews and adjusts the IAEA's mandate to monitor and report on Iran’s nuclear activities. While framed as a technical update, the resolution explicitly demands that Tehran swiftly grant the access and answers the IAEA has requested since the June strikes on facilities of its civilian nuclear program.

Nineteen member states voted in favor of the text, introduced jointly by the United States and the European E3, comprising France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Russia, China, and Niger opposed the resolution, while twelve countries abstained.

Resolution links inquiry to sites targeted in US-Israeli strikes

According to diplomats familiar with the draft, the resolution stresses that Iran must clarify the status of its enriched-uranium inventory, including material enriched up to 60%, and allow inspectors to visit locations that were hit during the US-Israeli aggression.

Those sites have remained inaccessible to the Agency since the attack, with Iran arguing that security concerns and damaged infrastructure have delayed inspections.

No formal breach ruling

Despite its firm language, the resolution does not declare that Iran is in violation of its safeguards commitments. Instead, it is framed as an effort to maintain pressure without immediately escalating to punitive measures, such as a referral to the UN Security Council.

Russia and China criticized the resolution as “politicized", arguing that Washington and its allies are using the IAEA as a tool to exert pressure following a military operation that itself remains internationally contentious. Tehran, for its part, has warned that pressure through the IAEA risks undermining diplomacy and reinforcing instability across West Asia.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that cooperation must be “professional and depoliticized,” insisting that the IAEA’s mandate is being distorted by countries that both illegally attacked its nuclear sites and are now demanding inspections of them.

Iran, Russia, China warned of politicization ahead of the vote

According to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran, along with China, Russia, and five other countries, had issued a joint statement ahead of the vote warning member states against what they described as Western “political manipulation” of the Iranian nuclear file.

The countries urged the Board to reject the draft, arguing that the resolution would distort the Agency’s technical mandate and risk creating a “parallel reality” within its reporting mechanisms, undermining the IAEA’s unity, credibility, and institutional integrity.

The joint statement welcomed recent high-level engagements between IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Iranian officials, noting Tehran’s cooperation in granting access to facilities that were not attacked during the US-Israeli strikes. It cautioned, however, that the new resolution would weaken ongoing dialogue and damage what had been a cautiously improving climate of cooperation.

Belarus, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe were among the signatories of the statement.

After the resolution was passed, the same eight countries issued a statement denouncing the "anti-Iranian resolution," which came under "pressure from the Israeli regime," Mehr News Agency reported.

The statement underlined that the resolution passed by the Board made no mention of Iran's continuous cooperation with the IAEA. It also slammed the resolution for not pointing out the US and Israeli aggression against Iran's peaceful nuclear program in June. The statement further criticized the IAEA and its director general for failing to condemn the attacks on Iran's nuclear sites.

Tehran slams 'ill-actioned action'

Tehran likewise warned that any “ill-considered action” by the Board would be met with a decisive response.

Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative in Vienna, stressed that the move by the US and the European troika would have no bearing on Iran’s current safeguards implementation. He said the situation was already shaped by “the criminal aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, and the complicity of the three European states.”

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, had also warned that if the anti-Iran resolution were adopted, “Iran will certainly carry out fundamental reviews of its policies.”