IAEA Board Refers Iran to UNSC for the First Time in 20 Years

[Financial News] The IAEA Board of Governors has passed a resolution referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for violating its nonproliferation obligations, the Associated Press reported on the 9th (local time).
This is the first time in 20 years that the IAEA Board has referred Iran to the UNSC.
The Board said Iran had failed to cooperate with a long-running investigation into traces of uranium discovered by inspectors at several undeclared sites in Iran.
It also asked the director general to report the resolution and previously adopted resolutions to all IAEA member states, the UNSC, and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in accordance with IAEA regulations.
The resolution again demanded that Iran urgently remedy its noncompliance and take any measures the IAEA deems necessary to ensure that "nuclear material is not diverted to other uses."
Iran has not allowed IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear facilities since Israel and the United States attacked Iranian nuclear sites in June last year.
The resolution, jointly submitted by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, received support from 23 of the IAEA’s 35 Board members, the AP and Agence France-Presse reported, citing anonymous diplomats.
China, Russia, and Niger opposed the resolution, while eight countries abstained. The remaining country reportedly did not participate in the vote because it was behind on its assessed contributions.
The resolution follows up on one adopted on June 12 last year. In that resolution, the IAEA determined that Iran was not complying with its nonproliferation obligations.
At the time, the IAEA estimated that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to as much as 60%. Reuters explained that, if further enriched, this amount could be used to produce 10 nuclear weapons.
The day after the resolution was adopted last year, Israel began bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. The United States soon followed with attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran immediately rejected the resolution.
Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, said on Iranian state television, "This resolution was passed without any basis under political pressure from the United States and its allies," adding, "It will not produce any results."
Iran’s mission to the United Nations agencies in Vienna, Austria, also criticized the resolution in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying it was "adopted without consensus and is political and biased."
Iran’s mission had warned on the 7th that it would retaliate if the resolution was adopted, but its post that day made no mention of retaliation.
Foreign media outlets analyzed that the UNSC was unlikely to take concrete measures against Iran, such as adopting a resolution. China and Russia, which were reported to have opposed the IAEA resolution, hold veto power as permanent members of the UNSC.

[email protected] International Affairs Specialist Lee Seok-woo Reporter