IAEA Board Of Governors Passes Resolution To Censure Iran

The IAEA, has passed a resolution calling on Iran to improve cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and reverse a decision to bar inspectors from nuclear sites.

• The resolution, proposed by the E3 - European signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear accords, Germany, France, and United Kingdom, - passed with US backing despite reports that Washington opposed the action.
• WSJ reported on May 27: "The U.S. has pressed a number of other countries to abstain in a censure vote, saying that is what Washington will do."
• The E3 said in a statement: "It is no surprise that the IAEA’s report once again confirms that Iran continues to escalate its proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, moving even further from its JCPoA commitments. Much of Iran’s nuclear programme is unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons programme."
• Ali Vaez, Iran program director at the International Crisis Group, noted that the vote comes during a period of uncertainty as Iran selects a new president: “We might end up in the worst of all worlds, in the sense that, it’s a bland resolution that is not going to get the IAEA closer to its objectives. And yet it is going to prompt an Iranian unconstructive response that would only add to the tension.”
• The Biden administration's decision to support the resolution is likely due to domestic political considerations. Republicans have argued that Biden's Iran policy has failed to contain Iran's nuclear programme or impose sufficiently punitive measures to deter development of nuclear weapons capabilities.