US and allies want IAEA board to report Iran to UN Security Council, diplomats say

The United States and its allies Britain, France, and Germany are urging other nations on the UN nuclear watchdog's board to adopt a resolution next week, reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in two decades, diplomats disclosed on Friday. This resolution would follow an earlier one adopted on June 12 last year, which deemed Iran in violation of its non-proliferation obligations for failing to cooperate fully with an investigation into uranium traces found at undisclosed locations.

On February 28, the US launched an airstrike against Tehran, alongside Israel, resulting in the destruction or severe damage to Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities.

Since then, Iran has barred International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from returning to the bombed sites and verifying the remnants of its enriched uranium, some of which was enriched up to 60%, nearly reaching weapons-grade purity. The resolution, if passed, would be the outcome of a long-standing dispute over IAEA access to these sites, as the board has already passed two resolutions demanding Iran declare its enriched uranium reserves and grant the IAEA unrestricted access for verification purposes.

The draft text of the resolution has not yet been officially submitted to the board, and ongoing negotiations between countries are taking place to finalize its wording. A draft is typically submitted early in the week leading up to a board meeting. As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran is entitled to develop nuclear technology, including enrichment, for peaceful purposes.

Iran maintains that it will never produce nuclear weapons; however, it remains the sole nation to enrich uranium to 60% without developing a bomb. This level of enrichment is a matter of significant concern to the IAEA, with over 200 kg of highly enriched uranium still unaccounted for, potentially stored in tunnel complexes at Isfahan and Natanz facilities.