Negative Reaction from the US and Europe to Recent IAEA Report on Iran's Nuclear Activities

On Tuesday, the United States, the European Union, and three European powers (E3) responded separately to the recent report by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), regarding Iran's nuclear activities. In its statement, the US government declared, "As the Director's report clearly shows, Iran continues to expand its nuclear activities far beyond the limits of the JCPOA." Iran claims its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes. However, the US statement emphasizes that Iran's action to produce uranium enriched to 60% "has no credible peaceful purpose. No other country in the world today uses uranium enriched to 60% for the purposes Iran claims." The US reiterated its call for Iran to end "this deeply concerning activity that contradicts the behavior of all other countries around the world." The US statement asserts that the Iranian government "argues that it is unfairly targeted by others. The reality is that Iran continues to make itself a target through its actions. Iran must stop its nuclear provocations that pose serious proliferation risks." In another part of the statement, issued by a US representative, it emphasizes that Iran's level of cooperation with the IAEA is overall "significantly weak" and "far less than the expectations set by the Board of Governors in November." The statement expressed concern over "unreported manipulations" by Iran in centrifuges located at the underground Fordow facility, urging Iran to fully cooperate with the Agency. The US stated that "nowhere in the world" do IAEA inspectors ignore the discovery of previously unreported nuclear materials and activities in "multiple undeclared locations." Earlier, the IAEA Director General reported to the Board of Governors that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile had increased by more than a quarter over three months, and the Islamic Republic is cooperating only with part of the nuclear inspection requirements. The European Union, in a statement reacting to Grossi's recent report, said it remains committed to the JCPOA and expressed regret that Iran "has not taken the necessary decisions and actions" and "on the contrary, continues to significantly increase its nuclear program." The EU's statement, released on Tuesday, June 6, called on Iran to reverse its concerning nuclear path, return without further delay to its political commitments regarding nuclear non-proliferation, and resume the implementation of all monitoring and verification measures related to the JCPOA and its Additional Protocol. The EU stated that timely and complete cooperation from Iran with the IAEA is essential to achieve results. The EU also welcomed increased financial support from member states for the Agency's activities in Iran. The three European powers (France, Germany, and the UK) also issued a statement on Tuesday in response to the expansion of Iran's nuclear activities – including a significant increase in Iran's enriched uranium stockpile to over 21 times the JCPOA limit, the installation of more centrifuge cascades, and the Islamic Republic's activities related to nuclear weapons production and "irreversible acquisition of knowledge related to it." These three countries also noted the discovery of uranium particles enriched to 83.7% in January in Iran, stating: "This enrichment was severely inconsistent with the level declared by Iran and represented an unprecedented and very serious development for which there is no credible civilian justification." The statement also warned that this action, along with Iran's broader nuclear program, dangerously brings the Islamic Republic closer to "actual weapon-related activities," while Iran's disregard for the importance of producing materials with over 60% enrichment using its current configuration is evident. The IAEA recently reported that Iran provided a satisfactory response regarding one of its nuclear sites named "Marivan," where remnants of uranium were found. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently stated that diplomacy is the best way to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but "if Iran rejects the path of diplomacy, then as President Biden has made clear many times, all options are on the table to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons."