The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board of governors has passed a resolution reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years for breaching its non-proliferation obligations, diplomats said on Wednesday. The resolution follows a previous one passed on June 12 last year, the day before Israel started bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, soon followed by the United States, that found Iran in non-compliance with those obligations.
Reporting the breach to the council required another resolution. While the Security Council is unlikely to take concrete action against Iran since its allies Russia and China are permanent, veto-wielding members, the move is an escalation in a diplomatic standoff between Iran and Western powers. Iran warned on Monday it would retaliate if the resolution passed.
An initial reaction by Iran's mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency, however, did not mention retaliation. The current situation is created solely because of the criminal acts of aggression by the US and Israeli regime, the mission said, adding that the resolution text, proposed by the US, Britain, France and Germany, passed with 23 votes in favour, three against and eight abstentions.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told his agency's board that the agency's lack of information about these facilities and associated nuclear material is a matter of serious proliferation concern. The IAEA estimates Iran had 440.9 kg of enriched uranium before the US-Israeli attacks, enough for 10 nuclear weapons if enriched further, though how much survived remains unclear.