Western diplomats issued a harsh accusation against Iran on Thursday, November 21 in Vienna and adopted a new critical resolution, risking a response from Tehran. The text, prepared by London, Paris and Berlin (E3), associated with Washington, was approved in the afternoon by 19 of the 35 member states of the Council of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to Agency sources. France. -Press (AFP) and Associated Press.
Russia, China and Burkina Faso voted against, while 12 countries abstained. The United States and its European allies had previously taken the podium to denounce the escalation of the Islamic Republic. Its nuclear activities are “deeply disturbing”launched the American ambassador Laura Holgate, judging “The level of cooperation with the UN agency is far below expectations”.
Berlin, Paris and London insisted on this point, recalling that Iran had accumulated enough highly enriched uranium to “four nuclear weapons”. “Their behavior represents a threat to international security” AND “the global nonproliferation system”according to his statement. Like the previous resolution from June, the text of this one, consulted by AFP, reminds Iran of its “legal obligations”under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ratified in 1970.
“It is essential and urgent” that the country offers “credible technical answers” about the presence of unexplained traces of uranium at two undeclared sites, the authors write, calling on the IAEA “a complete report” by spring 2025. In addition to this long-running dispute, Iran has severely restricted its cooperation with the Agency since 2021, disconnecting surveillance cameras and withdrawing the accreditation of experienced inspectors.
Difference between the positions of the West and Rafael Grossi
At the same time, its nuclear program continues to gain momentum, even as Tehran denies wanting to acquire the bomb. But this time, the resolution comes in a particular context, with a gap between the Western position and that of the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi. During a visit there last week, he obtained from Iran that it agrees to begin preparations to stop expanding its stockpile of enriched uranium to 60%, about the 90% needed to produce a nuclear weapon.
“This is a concrete step in the right direction”insisted on Wednesday, and this “for the first time” since Tehran freed itself from its commitments under the agreement concluded in 2015 in Vienna. A situation that the government newspaper Iran did not fail to stand out on Thursday, headed by “the differences” in Vienna. The so-called JCPOA pact provided for a reduction in international sanctions against Tehran, in exchange for guarantees that Iran will not seek to acquire atomic weapons. But it was derailed after the Americans withdrew in 2018, under the leadership of Donald Trump, then president, who reinstated sanctions.
Iran has warned that it will react “accordingly and appropriately”. the vote “will weaken” relations between the UN organization and Tehran, warned the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, stating “determined to work” with the IAEA. For Héloïse Fayet, nuclear specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), this initiative can effectively “they damage the efforts of Rafael Grossi”. “But Western powers are frustrated by the lack of effectiveness of their diplomatic maneuvers and are seeking stronger solutions”he told AFP.
In response, Iran could go back on its latest promise or “for example, raising the level of enrichment”predicts foreign policy expert Rahman Ghahremanpour. But the analyst does not expect drastic measures because “Iran does not want to aggravate tensions” before the return to the White House of Donald Trump, architect of a so-called politics of “maximum pressure” during his first term. A way to keep the door open to discussions with “the one who ruined everything” in 2018, but “He likes to position himself as the chief negotiator”M noteme Fayet.
