IAEA presses Iran over nuke violations, Tehran threatens retaliation

the international atomic energy agency’s (iaea) Board of Governors passed a resolution on Friday calling on iran to grant access to two suspected former nuclear sites and answer questions about possible undeclared nuclear material.

the resolution – submitted by France, Germany and the united Kingdom – was adopted by a vote of 25 to 2 with 7 abstentions. crucially, the two countries voting against the resolution were Russia and china.

the resolution could pressure iran to let inspectors into the two sites mentioned in the iaea’s march and early june reports and to clarify the origin of undeclared nuclear material which iaea inspectors found at another site.

a statement from the iaea said, “the resolution stressed the importance of states complying fully with their safeguards obligations and facilitating access as required when notified by the iaea.”

earlier in the week iaea director General Rafael Grossi requested action by the Board of Governors.

iran’s permanent representative to international organizations in vienna, Kazem Gharib abadi responded that tehran completely rejects the resolution adopted by the iaea Board of Governors.

“iran fully rejects this resolution and will respond appropriately,” isna news agency quotes him as saying. Gharib abadi added, “those who made this decision will bear responsibility for its consequences.”

according to the envoy, the resolution was adopted

it will act as an ‘asset for Israel’ on the Council.”

The campaign against its UNSC membership so concerned Canada that its UN Mission in New York circulated a letter to UN member states published by the NGO Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), in which Ottawa defended its rejection of “one-sided” UN resolutions against Israel.

The Canadian Mission clarified that it supports a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and opposes any Israeli annexation efforts.

It was an argument that fell on deaf ears at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), where the Palestinians have an automatic majority of support among the 193 member states.

The UNGA rejected Canada’s bid and approved instead UNSC membership for five new countries: India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway.

It was a sharp reminder of the type of diplomatic price tag Israel’s allies can suffer on the international stage.

ONE COULD argue that the UNGA vote has little significance for Israel when it comes to the 15-member UNSC, which is composed of 10 rotating seats every two years and five permanent members.

Those five members – US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China – have the ability to veto any Security Council resolution. It is a structural setup that leaves the UN’s most powerful body in the hands of these five post World War II powers.

The US, under the administration of President Donald Trump, has given Israel unqualified support and is likely to veto any anti-Israel resolution, including one on annexation, particularly if that step is taken with its approval and in the context of