Iran: IAEA resolution puts cooperation in jeopardy

Iran’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog has warned that an IAEA resolution passed against the country’s nuclear work will only introduce tension to the “spirit of cooperation.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday passed a new resolution against Iran over the construction of its Fordo enrichment plant, located outside Tehran.

The resolution, which was drafted by the P5+1 and passed by a 25-3 margin with six abstentions, calls on Iran to immediately halt construction of its second enrichment facility.

Opposed by Malaysia, Venezuela and Cuba, the resolution also urges Iran to clarify what it calls the purpose and the chronology of the plant’s construction. It also wants Iran to confirm it has no more hidden nuclear plants and no intentions whatsoever to build one.

Iran’s IAEA ambassador Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh rejected the resolution as a “hasty and undue” move, which he said would “jeopardize the spirit of cooperation” needed for talks.

“We expect the agency to play its essential role and facilitate technical cooperation … this environment of the agency should be depoliticized for we have to make sure that the agency will only focus on technical matters.”

Soltaniyeh reiterated that the resolution will not stop Iran from going on with its enrichment activities but asserted that Iran was “determined” to continue cooperation with the IAEA. He also called on the West to lean towards cooperation rather than confrontation.

The latest IAEA report confirmed the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran’s first nuclear plant in Natanz. It also said that Iran had allowed the agency to carry out a full inspection of its under-construction uranium enrichment facility.

IAEA inspectors have twice inspected the Fordo enrichment facility, with IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei confirming that the inspectors found “nothing to worry about.”

The resolution also reflected dismay over Iran’ unwillingness to accept an IAEA-backed draft deal, which envisages Iran shipping out most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) for further refinement and then returned to the country for use in Tehran’s medical research reactor.

The Tehran Research Reactor produces radioisotopes used in cancer treatment by over 200 hospitals in Iran.

Although the US and its allies have been pressuring Iran into accepting the draft deal, Tehran maintains that it will not ship out bulk of its LEU months before receiving the 20 percent-enriched uranium it needs.

Iran wants a simultaneous swap carried out inside the country, saying the West cannot be trusted. Tehran says “concrete” guarantees for returning the enriched fuel is one of its major concerns.

Tehran has complained over a pattern by nuclear powers of not delivering on their commitments and obligations in dealing with Iran, especially in the field of nuclear energy.