UN watchdog urges Iran to disclose full nuke stockpile

The UN atomic watchdog’s board of governors urged Iran on Thursday to “extend full and prompt cooperation”, provide the agency’s inspectors with “precise information” about its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium and grant access to the country’s nuclear sites.

The development sets the stage for a likely further escalation of tensions between the UN nuclear agency and Iran, which has reacted strongly to similar moves by the watchdog in the past. There was no immediate response from Tehran. Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board voted for the resolution at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, according to diplomats.

Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 12 countries abstained and one did not vote. The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Iran is legally obliged to cooperate with the IAEA under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

But it has not yet provided IAEA inspectors with access to nuclear sites that were affected by the war with Israel in June. The agency also has been unable to verify the status of the stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since Israel and the United States struck the country’s nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June, according to an IAEA report.

According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kg (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponise its programme, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned.

He added that it did not mean that Iran had such a weapon. Such highly enriched nuclear material should normally be verified every month, according to the IAEA’s guidelines. 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 UN reimposed crushing sanctions on Iran via the so-called snapback mechanism.