UN atomic agency demands Iran provide full information about its nuclear stockpile

VIENNA AP The U N atomic watchdog on Thursday demanded that Iran fully cooperate with the agency and provide precise information about its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium as well as grant its inspectors access to Iranian nuclear sites The improvement sets the stage for a likely further escalation between the U N nuclear agency and Iran which has reacted strongly to similar moves by the watchdog in the past Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Vitality Agency s -member board of governors voted for the resolution at the IAEA s headquarters in Vienna according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote Russia China and Niger opposed it while countries abstained and one did not vote The resolution put forward by France the United Kingdom Germany and the United States says Iran must provide the IAEA with the latest information on its nuclear stockpile without delay A draft was seen by The Associated Press After the strikes in June Since Israel and the United States struck Iran s nuclear sites during the -day war in June Iran has not given IAEA inspectors access to nuclear sites that were affected by the strikes even though Tehran is legally obliged to cooperate with the watchdog under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty The agency also has been unable to verify the status of the stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the June bombing according to a confidential IAEA record seen by the AP last week According to the IAEA Iran maintains a stockpile of kilograms pounds of uranium enriched up to purity a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of That stockpile could allow Iran to build as a multitude of as nuclear bombs should it decide to weaponize its undertaking IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned in a fresh interview with the AP He added that it doesn t mean that Iran has such a weapon Such highly enriched nuclear material should normally be verified every month according to the IAEA s guidelines Iran slams the decision Talking to reporters outside the IAEA boardroom Iran s Ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi denounced Thursday s resolution and stated that it was designed to exert undue pressure on Iran and propagate a false and misleading narrative of the present situation He described the authors of the resolution as deaf and visionless and announced that they maintain an arrogant and self-assured posture by presuming that Iran is obliged to continue its routine cooperation with the agency even under bombardment Najafi stated that Iran considers the current situation far from normal given that safeguarded facilities in Iran that contain dangerous nuclear material have been attacked Najafi mentioned that Iran is fully prepared for meaningful and constructive engagement but at present the authors of resolutions have chosen a different curriculum under the mistaken belief that the pressure and threat will yield results Responding to questions from journalist Najafi commented Iran will announce its response at a later stage Cutting ties Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA after the war with Israel Grossi then reached an agreement with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo in early September to resume inspections But later that month the U N reimposed crushing sanctions on Iran via the so-called snapback mechanism contained in the Iran nuclear deal drawing an angry response from Tehran and leading it to halt implementation of the Cairo agreement The snapback mechanism reactivated six U N Safety Council resolutions that address Iran s nuclear and ballistic missile scheme reinstate economic sanctions against Iran and contain other restrictions such as halting all uranium enrichment Thursday s resolution instructed Grossi to summary on the implementation of the reinstated restrictions It also requested that he ensure his reporting includes information on the verification of Iran s uranium stockpile including the locations quantities chemical forms and enrichment levels and the inventories of centrifuges and related equipment Iran has long insisted its activity is peaceful but the IAEA and Western nations say Tehran had an organized nuclear weapons effort up until Thursday s resolution demanded that Iran acts strictly in accordance with the so-called Additional Protocol that it signed in but never ratified That protocol grants more powers and oversight to the IAEA especially when it comes to conducting snap inspections at undeclared nuclear sites Iran suspended its implementation of the Additional Protocol in in response to the United States withdrawal from the nuclear deal that lifted economic sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran s nuclear operation