The UN nuclear watchdog’s governing board on Wednesday approved a western resolution demanding that Iran immediately provide information and give access to its uranium stockpile and production facilities.
Iran’s nuclear sites have been targeted in US-Israel attacks and Teheran’s envoy to the United Nations in Vienna told AFP the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) vote would hinder talks with the United States on ending the Middle East war.
The resolution, drawn up by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, was passed only hours after Iran and the United States staged military strikes on each other after Iran downed a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.
The resolution said it was “essential and urgent” that Iran “without delay” provide the IAEA with “complete information on nuclear material inventories and design information for facilities”.
The resolution — passed by 21 votes to three with 10 abstentions — also demanded that Iran “grant the agency all access it requires to verify this information”. One country on the 35-member board did not vote, said diplomats.
– ‘Counter-productive’ –
The IAEA estimates that Iran had 440 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent, close to the level needed for a bomb, as Israel and the United States launched their first attacks in June last year.
Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA then and inspectors have not seen the material since.
Western nations say the information and access is crucial now to determining whether uranium has been diverted.
The agency said in a report ahead of the board meeting that Iran’s refusal to allow access was a “proliferation concern”.
Iran’s ambassador at the United Nations in Vienna, Reza Najafi, rejected the new resolution as “counter-productive”, “politically motivated” and “legally flawed”.
He warned of fallout on the already fraught talks with US negotiators on ending the Middle East war.
The vote “cannot help and, would be indeed counterproductive to the current situation,” Najafi told AFP.
“It further complicates the volatile situation, volatile ceasefire, and the unfinished negotiations between Iran and the US.”
He added: “We have warned about the consequences of such a wrongful act by the US and its supporters.”
The IAEA board adopted a resolution in November calling on Iran to cooperate with nuclear inspectors.
Since the Middle East war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on February 28, Iran has negotiated with the United States but resisted demands to give up its nuclear programme.
Western countries and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon. It denies the charge.
What a bunch of clowns!!!! You had full access, you cancelled agreements, cowardly assasinated their leaders, assassinated 165+ little girls in their school, bombed civilians, brag that you destroyed their nuclear and military capabilities and will bomb them and their millenniums culture back to stone age and now, after they kicked your buts you are “demanding” they show you what they have and allow you back to inspect? Do you realize how mentally retarded this is? You look like baboons pretending to be smarter than Newton, Einstein and all other scientists. Ridiculous and laughable.