Big step as Iran found in breach of nuclear obligations
The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors has 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 major step on Thursday is the culmination of several festering stand-offs between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran that have arisen since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that deal unravelled.
Since Iran bristles at resolutions against it and this is the most significant one in years, it is likely to respond with a nuclear escalation, as it has said it will. That could complicate the current talks between Iran and the US aimed at imposing new curbs on Iran's accelerating atomic activities.
The resolution also comes at a time of particularly heightened tension, with the US pulling staff out of the Middle East, and Trump warning the region could become dangerous and saying Washington would not let Iran have nuclear weapons.
Diplomats at the closed-door meeting said the board passed the resolution submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany with 19 countries in favour, 11 abstentions and three states - Russia, China and Burkina Faso - against.
The text, seen by Reuters, declares Iran in breach of its obligations given a damning report the IAEA sent to member states on May 31.
"The Board of Governors ... finds that Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency," the text said.
A central issue is Iran's failure to provide the IAEA with credible explanations of how uranium traces detected at undeclared sites in Iran came to be there despite the agency having investigated the issue for years.
The May 31 IAEA report, a board-mandated "comprehensive" account of developments, found three of the four locations "were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material".
US intelligence services and the IAEA have long believed Iran had a secret, co-ordinated nuclear weapons program it halted in 2003, though isolated experiments continued for several years. IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said this week the findings were broadly consistent with that.
Iran denies ever having pursued nuclear weapons.
While the resolution alluded to reporting Iran to the UN Security Council, diplomats said it would take a second resolution to send it there, as happened the last time it was declared in non-compliance in September 2005, followed by referral in February 2006.
The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors has 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 major step on Thursday is the culmination of several festering stand-offs between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran that have arisen since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that deal unravelled.
Since Iran bristles at resolutions against it and this is the most significant one in years, it is likely to respond with a nuclear escalation, as it has said it will. That could complicate the current talks between Iran and the US aimed at imposing new curbs on Iran's accelerating atomic activities.
The resolution also comes at a time of particularly heightened tension, with the US pulling staff out of the Middle East, and Trump warning the region could become dangerous and saying Washington would not let Iran have nuclear weapons.
Diplomats at the closed-door meeting said the board passed the resolution submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany with 19 countries in favour, 11 abstentions and three states - Russia, China and Burkina Faso - against.
The text, seen by Reuters, declares Iran in breach of its obligations given a damning report the IAEA sent to member states on May 31.
"The Board of Governors ... finds that Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency," the text said.
A central issue is Iran's failure to provide the IAEA with credible explanations of how uranium traces detected at undeclared sites in Iran came to be there despite the agency having investigated the issue for years.
The May 31 IAEA report, a board-mandated "comprehensive" account of developments, found three of the four locations "were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material".
US intelligence services and the IAEA have long believed Iran had a secret, co-ordinated nuclear weapons program it halted in 2003, though isolated experiments continued for several years. IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said this week the findings were broadly consistent with that.
Iran denies ever having pursued nuclear weapons.
While the resolution alluded to reporting Iran to the UN Security Council, diplomats said it would take a second resolution to send it there, as happened the last time it was declared in non-compliance in September 2005, followed by referral in February 2006.
The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors has 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 major step on Thursday is the culmination of several festering stand-offs between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran that have arisen since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that deal unravelled.
Since Iran bristles at resolutions against it and this is the most significant one in years, it is likely to respond with a nuclear escalation, as it has said it will. That could complicate the current talks between Iran and the US aimed at imposing new curbs on Iran's accelerating atomic activities.
The resolution also comes at a time of particularly heightened tension, with the US pulling staff out of the Middle East, and Trump warning the region could become dangerous and saying Washington would not let Iran have nuclear weapons.
Diplomats at the closed-door meeting said the board passed the resolution submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany with 19 countries in favour, 11 abstentions and three states - Russia, China and Burkina Faso - against.
The text, seen by Reuters, declares Iran in breach of its obligations given a damning report the IAEA sent to member states on May 31.
"The Board of Governors ... finds that Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency," the text said.
A central issue is Iran's failure to provide the IAEA with credible explanations of how uranium traces detected at undeclared sites in Iran came to be there despite the agency having investigated the issue for years.
The May 31 IAEA report, a board-mandated "comprehensive" account of developments, found three of the four locations "were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material".
US intelligence services and the IAEA have long believed Iran had a secret, co-ordinated nuclear weapons program it halted in 2003, though isolated experiments continued for several years. IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said this week the findings were broadly consistent with that.
Iran denies ever having pursued nuclear weapons.
While the resolution alluded to reporting Iran to the UN Security Council, diplomats said it would take a second resolution to send it there, as happened the last time it was declared in non-compliance in September 2005, followed by referral in February 2006.
The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors has 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 major step on Thursday is the culmination of several festering stand-offs between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran that have arisen since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that deal unravelled.
Since Iran bristles at resolutions against it and this is the most significant one in years, it is likely to respond with a nuclear escalation, as it has said it will. That could complicate the current talks between Iran and the US aimed at imposing new curbs on Iran's accelerating atomic activities.
The resolution also comes at a time of particularly heightened tension, with the US pulling staff out of the Middle East, and Trump warning the region could become dangerous and saying Washington would not let Iran have nuclear weapons.
Diplomats at the closed-door meeting said the board passed the resolution submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany with 19 countries in favour, 11 abstentions and three states - Russia, China and Burkina Faso - against.
The text, seen by Reuters, declares Iran in breach of its obligations given a damning report the IAEA sent to member states on May 31.
"The Board of Governors ... finds that Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency," the text said.
A central issue is Iran's failure to provide the IAEA with credible explanations of how uranium traces detected at undeclared sites in Iran came to be there despite the agency having investigated the issue for years.
The May 31 IAEA report, a board-mandated "comprehensive" account of developments, found three of the four locations "were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material".
US intelligence services and the IAEA have long believed Iran had a secret, co-ordinated nuclear weapons program it halted in 2003, though isolated experiments continued for several years. IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said this week the findings were broadly consistent with that.
Iran denies ever having pursued nuclear weapons.
While the resolution alluded to reporting Iran to the UN Security Council, diplomats said it would take a second resolution to send it there, as happened the last time it was declared in non-compliance in September 2005, followed by referral in February 2006.
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In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place. "We knew everything," Trump said of the Israeli attack plans. "I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said. Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia in 2024. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed. Among the generals killed were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami. Iran has launched retaliatory air strikes at Israel, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv following Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel on Friday as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv's skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short. The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel, two US officials said. Israel's Channel 12 said two people were critically injured, eight moderately and 34 slightly from shrapnel. Several buildings were struck in the attack. The Israeli strikes on Iran and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel. Iranian state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, while Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium at Natanz to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz had been destroyed, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council on Friday. He said the UN was still gathering information about Israeli attacks on two other facilities, the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war, and a senior Iranian official warned that revenge would be painful. Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in Israel's strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians. He accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. Israel's operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address. "Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future." Netanyahu, who for decades has raised the alarm about Iran's nuclear program, said he authorised the assault to prevent Iran building nuclear weapons - an objective Tehran denies. Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear program. Tehran had been in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last US offer. The price of crude leaped on fears of wider retaliatory attacks across the oil-producing region. In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place. "We knew everything," Trump said of the Israeli attack plans. "I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said. Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia in 2024. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed. Among the generals killed were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami. Iran has launched retaliatory air strikes at Israel, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv following Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel on Friday as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv's skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short. The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel, two US officials said. Israel's Channel 12 said two people were critically injured, eight moderately and 34 slightly from shrapnel. Several buildings were struck in the attack. The Israeli strikes on Iran and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel. Iranian state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, while Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium at Natanz to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz had been destroyed, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council on Friday. He said the UN was still gathering information about Israeli attacks on two other facilities, the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war, and a senior Iranian official warned that revenge would be painful. Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in Israel's strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians. He accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. Israel's operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address. "Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future." Netanyahu, who for decades has raised the alarm about Iran's nuclear program, said he authorised the assault to prevent Iran building nuclear weapons - an objective Tehran denies. Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear program. Tehran had been in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last US offer. The price of crude leaped on fears of wider retaliatory attacks across the oil-producing region. In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place. "We knew everything," Trump said of the Israeli attack plans. "I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said. Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia in 2024. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed. Among the generals killed were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami.
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Iran's Natanz enrichment plant destroyed, UN told
The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed in Israel's strikes on Iran, the UN nuclear watchdog chief says. "At present, the Iranian authorities are informing us of attacks on two other facilities, namely the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan," International Atomic Energy Agency's head Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday. "At this moment we do not have enough information beyond indicating that military activity has been taking place around these facilities as well," he said. Iran is enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, close to weapons grade of 90 per cent, at the Natanz pilot plant. But the Fordow site, which is dug into a mountain, produces more of the material, and military experts say it would be difficult for Israel to destroy through bombardment. Grossi said electricity infrastructure at Natanz was also destroyed and the loss of power to a cascade hall might have damaged centrifuges there. But the level of radioactivity outside Natanz remained unchanged and normal, he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi requested the Security Council meeting, saying Israel "has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished". "Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts," Araghchi wrote in a letter. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel on Friday evening. Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Friday, saying it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon. "We don't know how long it will take," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters. "We will continue to act until we will know that we eliminated the threats." "The goals of our operation are very clear - to make sure that Iran will not have nuclear capabilities and to stop the ballistic missile operation." Araghchi, in his letter to the Security Council, said Israel had not only violated Iran's sovereignty but also committed "acts of aggression and war crimes". The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed in Israel's strikes on Iran, the UN nuclear watchdog chief says. "At present, the Iranian authorities are informing us of attacks on two other facilities, namely the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan," International Atomic Energy Agency's head Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday. "At this moment we do not have enough information beyond indicating that military activity has been taking place around these facilities as well," he said. Iran is enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, close to weapons grade of 90 per cent, at the Natanz pilot plant. But the Fordow site, which is dug into a mountain, produces more of the material, and military experts say it would be difficult for Israel to destroy through bombardment. Grossi said electricity infrastructure at Natanz was also destroyed and the loss of power to a cascade hall might have damaged centrifuges there. But the level of radioactivity outside Natanz remained unchanged and normal, he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi requested the Security Council meeting, saying Israel "has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished". "Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts," Araghchi wrote in a letter. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel on Friday evening. Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Friday, saying it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon. "We don't know how long it will take," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters. "We will continue to act until we will know that we eliminated the threats." "The goals of our operation are very clear - to make sure that Iran will not have nuclear capabilities and to stop the ballistic missile operation." Araghchi, in his letter to the Security Council, said Israel had not only violated Iran's sovereignty but also committed "acts of aggression and war crimes". The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed in Israel's strikes on Iran, the UN nuclear watchdog chief says. "At present, the Iranian authorities are informing us of attacks on two other facilities, namely the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan," International Atomic Energy Agency's head Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday. "At this moment we do not have enough information beyond indicating that military activity has been taking place around these facilities as well," he said. Iran is enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, close to weapons grade of 90 per cent, at the Natanz pilot plant. But the Fordow site, which is dug into a mountain, produces more of the material, and military experts say it would be difficult for Israel to destroy through bombardment. Grossi said electricity infrastructure at Natanz was also destroyed and the loss of power to a cascade hall might have damaged centrifuges there. But the level of radioactivity outside Natanz remained unchanged and normal, he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi requested the Security Council meeting, saying Israel "has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished". "Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts," Araghchi wrote in a letter. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel on Friday evening. Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Friday, saying it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon. "We don't know how long it will take," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters. "We will continue to act until we will know that we eliminated the threats." "The goals of our operation are very clear - to make sure that Iran will not have nuclear capabilities and to stop the ballistic missile operation." Araghchi, in his letter to the Security Council, said Israel had not only violated Iran's sovereignty but also committed "acts of aggression and war crimes". The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed in Israel's strikes on Iran, the UN nuclear watchdog chief says. "At present, the Iranian authorities are informing us of attacks on two other facilities, namely the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan," International Atomic Energy Agency's head Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday. "At this moment we do not have enough information beyond indicating that military activity has been taking place around these facilities as well," he said. Iran is enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, close to weapons grade of 90 per cent, at the Natanz pilot plant. But the Fordow site, which is dug into a mountain, produces more of the material, and military experts say it would be difficult for Israel to destroy through bombardment. Grossi said electricity infrastructure at Natanz was also destroyed and the loss of power to a cascade hall might have damaged centrifuges there. But the level of radioactivity outside Natanz remained unchanged and normal, he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi requested the Security Council meeting, saying Israel "has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished". "Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts," Araghchi wrote in a letter. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel on Friday evening. Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Friday, saying it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon. "We don't know how long it will take," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters. "We will continue to act until we will know that we eliminated the threats." "The goals of our operation are very clear - to make sure that Iran will not have nuclear capabilities and to stop the ballistic missile operation." Araghchi, in his letter to the Security Council, said Israel had not only violated Iran's sovereignty but also committed "acts of aggression and war crimes".
