The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a US-backed resolution on Wednesday telling Iran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks and let inspectors verify them, which could complicate Washington’s talks with Tehran. The move came within hours of the US and Iran trading military strikes after US President Donald Trump said Iran had downed a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli and US attacks in June of last year destroyed or badly damaged Iranian uranium-enrichment plants but much of the enriched uranium they produced, including material close to weapons-grade, is thought to have survived.

Iran still has not informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the fate of that material, or let IAEA inspectors return to the bombed sites to check. The US led the push for the resolution, but Iran has called it “whitewashing military aggression”, since inspectors had access before the strikes. The resolution text submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany was passed with 21 votes in favour, three against and 10 abstentions, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said.

The countries opposing were Russia, China and Niger, they said. “The Israeli regime’s and America’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities halted verification activities and forced Agency inspectors to leave Iran for safety reasons,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X before the vote by the Board of Governors. “Now, America seeks to turn the consequences of its illegal attack into a case against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Gharibabadi added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)