UN Watchdog Reports Iran to Security Council
UN Watchdog Reports Iran to Security Council
The News
The UN nuclear watchdog has sent Iran's case to the Security Council for the first time in two decades — in the middle of a shooting war between Washington and Tehran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors voted Wednesday to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its failure to cooperate with a long-running investigation into uranium traces found by inspectors at undeclared sites in Iran.
It is the first such referral in 20 years.
The resolution was put forward by the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
The Vote
Twenty-three of the 35 countries on the IAEA board voted for the resolution at agency headquarters in Vienna. China, Russia and Niger voted against. Eight countries abstained and one did not vote because it was in arrears, according to diplomats who described the closed-door vote on condition of anonymity.
Timeline
The IAEA board formally finds Iran in noncompliance with its nonproliferation obligations over Tehran's lack of cooperation with the investigation into uranium traces at undeclared sites. A referral to the Security Council has been under consideration ever since.
The United States destroys five Iranian oil tankers and Tehran strikes American targets in Jordan, the latest exchange in a war now more than six months old.
The IAEA board votes 23-3, with eight abstentions, to report Iran to the Security Council.
Reactions
Western officials suspect the uranium traces could be further evidence that Iran ran a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.
Iran says it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and that its program is entirely peaceful.
China, Russia and Niger opposed the resolution in the closed-door vote.
What's Next
The referral shifts responsibility to a higher authority — the Security Council, which can impose further measures including sanctions or asset freezes.
Punitive UN action is unlikely in this case, however: Iran's allies Russia and China hold veto power on the Security Council.
More
The referral lands as the US-Iran war escalates. The destruction of the five Iranian tankers and Tehran's retaliation against American targets in Jordan have pushed the two sides back toward open hostilities after months of back-and-forth strikes.
Poll
What should the Security Council do about Iran now?
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