Iran Declared in Breach of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Obligations
Charles Kennedy

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Thursday declared Iran in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations, just as tensions in the Middle East escalate and Oman prepares to host the next round of indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks.

The 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution slamming Iran’s non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution was proposed by the U.S., the UK, France, and Germany. At the closed-door vote, 19 of the 25 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 11 abstained, and three countries – Russia, China, and Burkina Faso – voted against condemning Iran for breaching its obligations.

Earlier this week, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an address to the Board of Governors that the Agency’s inspections had concluded that Iran did not declare nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at three undeclared locations in Iran.

Grossi called upon Iran “urgently to cooperate fully and effectively” with the IAEA.

“Unless and until Iran assists the Agency in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful,” he added.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is now less confident that the United States could reach a nuclear deal with Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago,” President Trump said in a podcast this week.

Regardless of whether a deal is reached, the U.S. will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear bomb by enriching uranium at the necessary level, the President added.

Oman’s capital city of Muscat will host the 6th round of Iran-U.S. talks on Sunday, June 15, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X on Thursday.

The talks will be held in a potentially tenser atmosphere than in the previous rounds as the U.S. State Department ordered the departure of non-essential personnel from its embassy in Baghdad amid escalating security risks tied to stalled nuclear negotiations with Iran.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

 

 

 

Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com

 

 

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