UN nuclear watchdog says Iran in breach of obligations, Iran announces counter-measures
The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors has declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligation and Tehran announced counter-measures, as an Iranian official said a "friendly country" had warned it of a potential Israeli attack.
US and Iranian officials will hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran's accelerating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday, the Omani foreign minister said today.
But security fears have risen since US President Donald Trump said yesterday American personnel were being moved outof the region because "it could be a dangerous place" and that Tehran would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Mr Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if the nuclear talks do not progress, and in an interview released yesterday said he had become less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium.
The Islamic Republic wants a lifting of the US sanctions imposed on the country since 2018.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's policy-making Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting it to the UN Security Council.
The step is the culmination of several stand-offs between the Vienna-based IAEA and Iran since Mr Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that accord unravelled.
An IAEA official said Iran had responded by informing thenuclear watchdog that it plans to open a new uranium enrichmentfacility.
After the IAEA decision, the Israeli Foreign Ministrysaid Tehran's actions undermine the global Non-ProliferationTreaty and posed an imminent threat to regional andinternational security and stability.
Iran is a signatory to the NPT while Israel is not andis believed to have the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal.
Iran's response to the IAEA resolution was among severalcountermeasures being taken, Iranian state TV said.
The IAEA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had given no further details on the planned new enrichment sites, such as its location to enable monitoring by UN nuclear inspectors.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for Iran's atomic energy organisation, told state TV that Tehran had informed the IAEA of two countermeasures including "the upgrading of centrifuges in Fordow (enrichment plant) from first to sixth generation, which will significantly boost the production of enriched uranium".
Enrichment can be used to produce uranium for reactor fuel or, at higher levels of refinement, for atomic bombs. Iran says its nuclear energy programme is only for peaceful purposes.
Reiterating Iran's stance that it will not abandon the right to enrichment as an NPT member, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that rising Middle East tensions served to "influence Tehran to change its position about its nuclear rights".
The Iranian official said a "friendly" country had alerted Tehran to a potential strike on its nuclear sites by arch-adversary Israel and reiterated that the Islamic Republic would not abandon its commitment to enrichment.
"We don't want tensions and prefer diplomacy to resolve the (nuclear) issue, but our armed forces are fully ready to respondto any military strike," the official said.
Iranian state media reported that Iran's military had begundrills earlier than planned to focus on "enemy movements".
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad head David Barnea will travel to Oman to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of the US-Iranian talks in another bid toclarify Israel's position, Israeli media reported today.
The decision by Mr Trump to remove some personnel from the region comes at a brittle and highly sensitive juncture in the oil-producing Middle East, where security has already been destabilised by the Gaza war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas that began in October 2023.
Oil prices initially rose after Mr Trump's announcement but later eased. Foreign energy companies were continuing their operations as usual, a senior Iraqi official overseeing operations in southern oil fields told Reuters.
The US Embassy in Baghdad advised American citizens today against travelling to Iraq, Iran's western neighbour.
Foreign energy firms continue to operate normally in Iraq, asenior Iraqi official told Reuters.
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