The Iranian government rejected this Wednesday, November 16, the resolution presented a day earlier by the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which denounces Tehran’s lack of cooperation to supervise its nuclear program. Despite this, the general director of the organization Rafael Grossi pointed out that he hopes that a planned visit to the Islamic Republic for the end of this November will continue.
New tension between the West and Iran over its nuclear program. The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohamad Eslami, rejected on November 16 the draft resolution presented to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in which the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom denounce a lack of cooperation from Tehran about its nuclear program.
The text promoted by Western nations seeks to get the UN nuclear watchdog board to pass a resolution calling it “essential and urgent” that Iran explain the traces of uranium found at three undeclared sites.
“(The Board of Governors) decides that it is essential and urgent that Iran act to comply with its legal obligations and take the following measures without delay,” said the document, dated Friday, November 11, and which listed actions such as providing credible explanations for the traces found of the chemical material.
In addition, the draft resolution, which would have to be approved by a simple majority of board members, called for measures such as “providing all information, documentation and responses that the agency requires” and “providing access to locations and material required by the IAEA, as well as for the taking of samples that it deems appropriate”.
However, the Islamic Republic responded on Wednesday that the accusations against it are based on false data on nuclear material allegedly found in facilities not declared by Tehran.
“They drafted a resolution and brought documents that they themselves know are not true and are rejected by the Islamic Republic,” Eslami replied, quoted by the state news agency Irna.
Despite the disagreements, the director of the UN nuclear control body, Rafael Grossi, stated that he hopes that a previously agreed visit to Iran and scheduled for the end of November will continue.
Iran: no IAEA visit on the agenda
Despite Grossi’s hopes, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on November 16 that no IAEA visits to his country are scheduled.
“For now, there is no IAEA trip to Iran on the agenda. Given Iran’s goodwill and logical responses, we can expect good results if the agency follows a professional and apolitical path,” said Mohamad Eslami, director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency.
This Wednesday, in the midst of the new discrepancies, the Iranian government accused the United States of being “hypocritical” for allegedly stating in public that resuming the historic nuclear agreement, reached in 2015, is not a priority, while privately contacting Tehran to close it. with “hurry”.
“The United States is acting hypocritically,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdolahian told local television.
Since April 2021, Iran has been holding talks with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and, indirectly, with the US, on the restoration of the nuclear agreement, signed seven years ago under the leadership of then US President Barack Obama.
The key points of that pact focused on the fact that Iran would not produce highly enriched uranium for 15 years after the signing of the agreement, it would dispense with 98% of the nuclear material in its hands and it would eliminate two thirds of the centrifuges installed in its atomic plants.
In exchange, the United Nations (UN) promised to lift all sanctions imposed against Tehran, but with some caveats. Arms embargoes would be in place for a period of five years and, in the case of ballistic missiles, for eight years. For its withdrawal, Iran had to comply with the “basic steps” of the agreement.
The pact, officially called the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan, was left in limbo after Washington’s unilateral departure in May 2018, during the Donald Trump Administration, which reimposed economic sanctions on Tehran.
Despite the approaches in recent months to resume the agreement, the Iranian authorities denounce indecision on the part of the United States and pressure from the Israeli lobby, very critical of the nuclear pact, which for Tehran have caused multiple interruptions in the marathon talks.
However, the West also highlights failures by Tehran to stop the development of an atomic weapon.
In November 2021, the IAEA established that the Islamic Republic stockpiled 17.7 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, much closer to the 90% needed to develop a nuclear weapon.
It is also about levels well above what was agreed in the pact: a limit of 3.67%.
With Reuters and EFE
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