Map Shows Iran's Adversaries in Key Nuclear Vote
The resolution was passed with 19 votes in favor. Three countries voted against, 11 abstained and two countries did not vote, according to multiple media reports.
Iran described it as a "politically motivated" resolution and said it will build a new uranium enrichment facility in a secure location, state media Press TV reported after the vote.
Newsweek has contacted the IAEA for comment.
The IAEA resolution could lead to the reimposition of sanctions on Iran under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Iran has warned this would trigger a strong response, including limiting IAEA cooperation, boosting uranium enrichment, or quitting the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Increased tensions raise the risk of military escalation between Iran and the United States-with prospects also rising for an Israeli strike-which could trigger a wider Middle East conflict involving regional allies.
On Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors officially determined that Iran has failed to meet its nuclear obligations for the first time in two decades, with 19 countries voting for the resolution, according to The Associated Press.
The resolution said "Iran failed to provide credible explanations for nuclear material at three undeclared locations."
The IAEA held a board session Wednesday on Iran's nuclear program, during which Britain, France, and Germany warned Iran that its escalating nuclear activities-such as 60 percent enrichment of uranium and expansion of centrifuge and stockpile limits-undermine the JCPOA, a 2015 deal with Iran, but did not call for immediate punitive steps.
The resolution seeks to prompt Iran to resolve the issue without immediately referring its non-compliance to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions, giving Iran a window to address six years of outstanding requests, a Western diplomat told The Associated Press earlier in June.
The push followed IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's reports uncovering undisclosed nuclear activities in Iran. Grossi said Iran had undermined the agency's ability to monitor Iran's JCPOA commitments and removed all related surveillance and monitoring equipment in 2022.
Iran criticized the resolution and dismissed Grossi's report, warning of serious consequences if the U.N. Security Council imposes new sanctions, Iran's UN Ambassador Reza Najafi told the board, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Russia's envoy to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, supported Tehran's position, saying that "the United States and then the E3 deliberately sabotaged the implementation of the nuclear deal," he said, referring to the JCPOA."
Gulf states and other Arab and Middle East countries have supported diplomatic efforts and mediated rapprochement with Iran, but remain cautious and neutral, mindful that regional security would be at serious risk if war erupts.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear deal which lifted sanctions in exchange for nuclear limits, was disrupted by the U.S. withdrawal in 2018 and is set to fully expire in October 2025.
U.S. President Donald trump told "Pod Force One" podcast on the nuclear deal: "I'm getting more and more less confident about it. They seem to be delaying, I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago.
Reza Najafi, Iran's Permanent Ambassador to the UN office and international organizations in Vienna, as quoted by IRNA: "Since the E3 has seriously violated Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, they are neither in a moral nor legal position to activate the snapback mechanism. If such a scenario unfolds, Iran's options will be firm, and the United States and the E3 will bear full responsibility."
France, Germany and the UK (E3) joint statement, published by the British government's website: "Iran must halt and reverse its nuclear escalation and refrain from making threats regarding a change of its nuclear doctrine, which are in themselves highly destabilising and not consistent with Iran's status as a state without nuclear weapons under the NPT."
Washington and Tehran are scheduled to resume nuclear negotiations on Sunday in Oman amid key disagreements on enrichment and sanctions' relief.
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