The International Atomic Energy Agency declared on Thursday that Iran was not complying with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, the first time the U.N. watchdog has passed a resolution against the country in 20 years.
The long-anticipated vote by the agency’s board of governors in Vienna came at a time of high tension over Tehran’s nuclear program, with American and European officials saying they believe that Israel may be preparing an imminent military strike against Iran.
The I.A.E.A. said that Iran had consistently failed to provide information about undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple locations.
The resolution was put forward by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, and passed easily, with 19 votes of the 35-nation board. Russia, China and Burkina Faso voted against, and 11 other countries abstained, while two did not vote at all.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry and national atomic energy agency issued a joint statement condemning the vote, calling it political and saying the resolution had “completely called into question the credibility and prestige” of the nuclear watchdog.
The statement added that Iran would now “launch a new enrichment center in a secure location and replace the first-generation machines” at another site with more modern equipment.
Iran had reacted angrily to the prospect of the vote and had threatened to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which came into force in 1970. Iran is a signatory but has not ratified a section that would allow inspectors to search areas of the country where they suspect nuclear activity. But the vote was also seen as part of the diplomacy around the fraught negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between Washington and Tehran.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on social media on Wednesday that a move to censure the country would “compel Iran to react STRONGLY. Blame will lie solely and FULLY with malign actors who shatter their own relevance.”
Diplomats in Oman, where the Washington-Tehran talks are being held, said that a sixth session would go ahead there on Sunday between President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Mr. Araghchi.
Mr. Araghchi and others have warned that any military action against Iran by the United States or by Israel would produce severe consequences, potentially including strikes on American military bases. An attack on Iran would also most likely derail the diplomatic effort to ensure that Iran stops or sharply reduces uranium enrichment, which is needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian use and not to develop weapons.
The Trump administration has proposed an arrangement that would provide Iran with fuel for reactors but prevent the country from building a nuclear weapon or enriching uranium. Iran has said that it will never give up the right to enrichment.
Mr. Trump has described the negotiations, which began in April, as heading in a positive direction and has said that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to postpone any military plans. But on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he was “less confident” that Iran would agree to demands to shut down its nuclear enrichment program.
“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame,” he said.
The nuclear agency vote was another indication that American and European patience is wearing thin. But the resolution did not immediately refer Iran’s noncompliance to the Security Council to consider more sanctions on Tehran. It is an effort to get Iran to comply, said a senior European diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
Any move by Iran to increase activity at its nuclear facilities would probably increase Israel’s belief that a military attack is the only way to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran already has enough highly enriched uranium at near weapons-grade to build 10 bombs in less than a year, according to the I.A.E.A.
Iran’s continued failure to comply with the nuclear watchdog’s requirements could be grounds for the Security Council to restore, or “snap back,” heavy economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted as part of the 2015 deal that was agreed with the Obama administration, the five permanent members of the Security Council, the European Union and Germany. Mr. Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from that agreement in 2018, a move that Iran says gave it license to abandon its commitments to limit nuclear activity.
Under the 2015 deal, which expires in mid-October, any participant can trigger the snapback sanctions, which would reinstate all the multinational and U.N sanctions lifted under the Obama-era agreement.
Those sanctions are in addition to American ones and are severe. They include an embargo on selling conventional weapons to Iran, asset freezes, banking restrictions and various further restrictions on uranium enrichment and nuclear-related trade.
If those sanctions were reinstated, the restrictions would come back into force after 30 days unless the Security Council passed a separate resolution to continue sanctions relief.
That threat is also intended to push Iran toward a diplomatic resolution. But the snapback can only be used before the 2015 deal expires on Oct. 18.
Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting from Brussels.
Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe and is based in Berlin. He has reported from over 120 countries, including Thailand, France, Israel, Germany and the former Soviet Union.
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