UN nuclear watchdog says Iran in breach of obligations, Iran announces counter-measures

VIENNA - The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations on June 12 and Tehran announced counter-measures, as an Iranian official said a “friendly country” had warned it of a potential Israeli attack.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) policy-making Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting it to the UN Security Council.

The step is the culmination of several stand-offs between the Vienna-based IAEA and Iran since US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that deal unravelled.

An IAEA official said Iran had responded by informing the nuclear watchdog that it plans to open a new uranium enrichment facility.

After the IAEA decision, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Tehran’s actions undermine the global non-proliferation treaty and posed an imminent threat to regional and international security and stability.

Iran is a signatory to the treaty while Israel is not and is believed to have the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal.

On June 12, markets absorbed the developments in a volatile Middle East.

Oil prices eased as the market assessed the situation, having surged more than 4 per cent on June 11 to their highest since early April.

But shares in European airlines, travel companies and hotel chains were among the biggest fallers in morning trade as investors worried the heightened tensions would knock demand for travel and higher oil prices would add to costs.

“Clearly, it is Iran that is at the centre of this and the possibility that you see a strike from the US or Israel,” said Mr Paul McNamara, a director of emerging market debt for investment firm GAM. “There is a lot of scope for things to get a whole lot worse if we do see a military strike and a sustained attack.”

Iran’s response to the IAEA resolution was among several countermeasures being taken, Iranian state TV said.

The IAEA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had given no further details on the planned new enrichment sites, such as its location to enable monitoring by UN nuclear inspectors.

Mr Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for Iran’s atomic energy organisation, told state TV that Tehran had informed the IAEA of two countermeasures including “the upgrading of centrifuges in Fordow (enrichment plant) from first to sixth generation, which will significantly boost the production of enriched uranium”.

Enrichment can be used to produce uranium for reactor fuel or, at higher levels of refinement, for atomic bombs. Iran says its nuclear energy programme is only for peaceful purposes.

Reiterating Iran’s stance that it will not abandon the right to nuclear enrichment as a signatory to the global non-proliferation treaty, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that rising tensions in the region were intended to “influence Tehran to change its position about its nuclear rights”.

‘Potential Israeli strike’

The Iranian official said a “friendly” country had alerted Tehran to a potential strike on its nuclear sites by arch-adversary Israel and reiterated that the Islamic Republic would not abandon its commitment to enrichment.

“We don’t want tensions and prefer diplomacy to resolve the (nuclear) issue, but our armed forces are fully ready to respond to any military strike,” the official said.

Iranian state media reported that Iran’s military had begun drills earlier than planned to focus on “enemy movements”.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad head David Barnea will travel to Oman to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of US-Iranian talks in another bid to clarify Israel’s position, Israeli media reported on June 12. REUTERS