U.N. Atomic Agency Censures Iran Over Nuclear Actions Despite Retaliation Threat

Wall Street Journal-June 5th2024

VIENNA—The United Nations atomic agency formally rebuked Iran over advances in its nuclear program and failure to cooperate with the body, a measure that Tehran has threatened to retaliate against.

The rebuke—the first formal censure resolution of Iran by the agency’s board of member states since November 2022—was led by European governments.

The Biden administration had initially opposed the move and threatened to abstain but ultimately voted in favor. The U.S. team only confirmed Wednesday morning it would back the measures and not abstain, according to two European diplomats.

Russia and China opposed the resolution, but they have no veto on the 35-member International Atomic Energy Agency board. The measure passed by a vote of 20 to 2, with 12 abstentions and one member not voting.

Iranian officials have said in recent days that they would take fresh steps to advance their nuclear program or reduce IAEA oversight if the censure resolution is approved. There was no immediate announcement from Tehran after the vote.

However, Iran’s representative at the IAEA, Mohsen Naziri Asl, told Iranian media that the resolution “would severely affect” the work needed between Iran and the IAEA to resolve outstanding tensions. He said the Europeans “bear responsibility for any kind of consequences” from any Iranian reaction to the vote.

The censure resolution didn’t say that Iran was in formal noncompliance of its obligations, a step that could have pushed Iran’s nuclear activities up to the U.N. Security Council for an international response.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency has a 35-member board. PHOTO: MAX SLOVENCIK/SHUTTERSTOCK

European officials said that after repeated warnings to Iran, a censure resolution was needed now to protect the credibility of the IAEA’s nonproliferation regime.

The resolution could be the start of a more concerted effort to raise pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. Under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, which lifted international pressure on Tehran in exchange for strict but temporary restrictions on its nuclear work, Britain, France and Germany could trigger a snapback, restoring international sanctions on Iran at the Security Council.

The Trump administration took the U.S. out of the nuclear deal in 2018 and Iran started ramping up its program again a year later. The European countries still formally adhere to the 2015 deal.

Wednesday’s resolution could start to lay the basis for an eventual snapback if Tehran doesn’t change course, an option that expires in October 2025.

Ahead of the vote, U.S. Ambassador Laura Holgate confirmed that Washington would support the resolution but said the decision must “be tied to a broader strategy.”

It should be “a first step in a strategy aimed at achieving a sustainable, effective solution to Iran’s nuclear program that includes full cooperation with the IAEA,” she said.

The resolution demanded Iran “provide sufficient cooperation with the Agency and take the essential and urgent actions” needed to resolve the concerns raised by the IAEA about its nuclear work.

While Tehran says its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes, it has produced enough highly enriched uranium for three nuclear weapons and it is making uranium metal, an ingredient for a nuclear warhead.

Senior current and former Iranian officials have said in recent months that Tehran has mastered most of the knowledge to build a nuclear weapon and threatened to reverse a religious order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against producing weapons of mass destruction.

U.S. intelligence officials said in March that there is no evidence that Tehran is currently trying to weaponize an atomic bomb, a view Washington has held for more than 15 years.

Iran has also severely reduced cooperation with the IAEA. It has stripped back the agency’s access to nuclear-related sites and enrichment facilities. It has banned some experienced IAEA staff from the country and has provided no credible answers, according to the agency, to a probe into nuclear material found in the country almost five years ago.