MESOP MIDEAST WATCH: UN Nuclear Agency Weighs Censure of Iran for Undeclared Uranium Sites

The United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) submitted a draft resolution (Reuters) condemning Iran’s lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the organization’s board. The board will vote on the resolution this week as it meets in Austria.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Iran has not provided “technically credible” explanations (CNN) for nuclear activities at three undeclared sites and is weeks away from having a “significant quantity of enriched uranium.” Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry said anyone pushing for a censure would “be responsible for the consequences.” Talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have not been held since March.

 
Analysis
“Any agreement will also suffer from the same broader shortfalls as its predecessor did six years ago—likely exacerbated by worsening attitudes in the United States and in Iran itself,” Eurasia Group’s Henry Rome writes for Foreign Affairs.

“After reading the full US/E3-led draft resolution submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors on Iran’s safeguards obligations, it is clear that there is a transatlantic desire to not rock the boat given how mild the text is,” the European Leadership Network’s Sahil Shah tweets.