Iranian nuclear: Westerners table resolution, warning from Tehran

European countries and the United States have deposited a resolution condemning Iran's lack of cooperation in the nuclear issue, despite a warning from Tehran, at a time when ;ugrave; a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opens in Vienna on Wednesday.

Paris, Berlin and London (E3) together with Washington have formally submitted the text for a vote probably on Thursday, according to diplomatic sources questioned by AFP.

“This initiative (…) will only complicate the problem,” warned the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, during a telephone call with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, reported Wednesday by Tehran, as the IAEA board of governors is due to open in Vienna.

The desire of the West to increase pressure on Iran is damaging the “positive atmosphere” of exchanges between Tehran and the IAEA, Mr. Araghchi said.

The head of the UN body, Rafael Grossi, visited two major nuclear sites in Iran on Friday.

According to a confidential report from the UN body, Tehran, which claims to want to remove “doubts and ambiguities” about its controversial nuclear program, has initiated preparations to stop the expansion of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

A pledge of goodwill received with “skepticism”, according to a senior diplomat, by Washington and its E3 allies, who have been demanding concrete measures for months and have therefore decided to move forward with the resolution.

The text, consulted by AFP, “reaffirms that it is essential and urgent” that the country provide “credible technical answers” concerning the presence of unexplained traces of uranium on two undeclared sites near Tehran, Turquzabad and Varamin. And demands a “full report” from the IAEA.

– “Reciprocal measures” –

In 2015, Iran and several countries including the United States had concluded a nuclear agreement in Vienna.

This pact, known as the JCPOA, provided for an easing of international sanctions against Tehran, in exchange for guarantees that Iran would not seek to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran fiercely denies having such military ambitions and defends a right to nuclear power for civilian purposes, particularly for energy.

In 2018, Donald Trump, then President of the United States, unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement – with which Tehran was complying, according to the IAEA – and re-established heavy sanctions against Iran.

Since then, the country has considerably increased its reserves of enriched materials in retaliation and raised the threshold to 60%, close to the 90% needed to manufacture an atomic weapon. The JCPOA capped this rate at 3.67%.

According to the IAEA, Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium to this high level, while continuing to accumulate large stocks.

“If a resolution is adopted against us, Iran will take reciprocal measures and we will take new measures that they will certainly not like for our nuclear program,” warned the head of Iranian diplomacy on Saturday.

M. Araghchi was in 2015 the chief negotiator on the Iranian side of the nuclear talks with the major powers.

In 1970, Iran ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires signatory states to declare and place their nuclear materials under the control of the IAEA.

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