VIENNA: The United States and its three top European allies are divided over whether to confront Iran at the United Nations nuclear watchdog by seeking a resolution against it and thereby risk further escalation, with the Europeans in favor, according to some diplomats.
It is eighteen months since the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors last passed a resolution against Iran, ordering it to cooperate urgently with a years-long IAEA investigation into uranium particles found at 3 undeclared sites.
While the number of sites in question has been narrowed to two, Tehran still has not explained the traces, and the number of other issues in Iran has risen including it barring many of the IAEA’s top uranium-enrichment experts on the inspection team.
A quarterly Board of Governors meeting begins in ten days, according to media reports.
A senior European diplomat said that it is extremely difficult with Iran and the level of violations is unprecedented. There is no slowing down of its programme and there is no real goodwill by it to cooperate with the IAEA.
United States Opposes Another Resolution
The US did not want to seek another resolution against Iran at recent IAEA board meetings. Before the last one, in March, the European countries — France, Britain and Germany, known as the “E3” — disagreed with the United States on whether to seek a resolution but then backed down.
Officials often cite the US presidential election as a reason for the Joe Biden administration’s reluctance.
But the main argument US officials make is to avoid giving Tehran a pretext to respond by escalating its nuclear activities.
