IAEA Rebukes Tehran On Nuclear Probe Stance

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted overwhelmingly to back a US-E3 proposed resolution calling on Tehran to immediately cooperate with an IAEA probe into the discovery of nuclear traces at three undeclared sites in the country.

• The vote passed with 26 members voting in favour, two against, and five abstaining.
• WSJ: "The IAEA has been seeking Iran’s answers for three years about undeclared nuclear material found in Iran in 2019. Many experts believe the material is related to an Iranian weapons program dating back decades. The agency has accused Iran of providing technically noncredible explanations to its questions about the material."
• The last time the IAEA issued such a rebuke the Iranian gov't responded by removing observation cameras from some nuclear sites. Speculation that in response to today's actions the gov't could withdraw an invitation to IAEA inspectors to Tehran to talk about the probe.
• Iran demands an end to the investigation in order to make any progress on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal). Prospect of any agreement being reached in the short-to-medium term looks overwhelmingly unlikely.