UN Security Council Meeting on Iran's Increased Enriched Uranium Stockpile

Diplomats announced that the United Nations Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Wednesday to discuss the increase in enriched uranium stockpiles in Iran. These reserves are nearing levels suitable for nuclear weapon construction. Reuters reported on Monday that the request for this meeting was made by six of the fifteen Security Council members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Greece, and Panama. These countries have also called for the Security Council to discuss Iran's commitment to provide 'necessary information to the International Atomic Energy Agency' to 'clarify outstanding issues related to previously unreported nuclear materials identified at several locations in Iran.' The Iranian delegation at the UN in New York did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on this meeting. Earlier on Sunday, the Iranian delegation announced Tehran's conditional readiness to discuss its nuclear program, provided it is limited to military or weapon-related concerns. The Iranian government has consistently denied its intention to build nuclear weapons, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned that Iran is enriching uranium at a 'notable' speed up to 60%, which is close to the 90% level needed for weapons-grade material. Western countries argue that there is no need for uranium enrichment at such high levels in any civilian program, and no country has ever achieved this level of enrichment without developing nuclear weapons. However, Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful. In 2015, Iran signed an agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the UK, Germany, France, the US, Russia, and China, under which sanctions against Iran were lifted in exchange for limitations on its nuclear program. However, the United States withdrew from this agreement in 2018 during Donald Trump's presidency, and Iran gradually distanced itself from its nuclear commitments. The UK, France, and Germany have informed the Security Council that they are prepared to activate the automatic sanctions snapback mechanism to restore all international sanctions against Iran if necessary to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, these three powerful European allies of the US will lose this ability on October 18 of next year (October 26, 1405 in the Iranian calendar) when the 2015 Security Council resolution regarding this agreement expires. Donald Trump has instructed his representative at the UN to work with allies to restore international sanctions and restrictions against the Iranian government. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on Sunday, March 10, for a complete halt to enrichment activities by Iran and the removal of high-purity enriched uranium from Iran. This senior member of Congress told Fox News, 'In my view, a good deal is this: no more [Iranian] enrichment. All high-enriched uranium is removed from Iran; I am willing to buy it from them and allow Iran to have nuclear energy, provided that the fuel rods are supplied by Russia or China or an international group.' With Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's opposition to negotiations with the US, the price of the dollar in Iran remains above 90,000 tomans. The US President has stated that either an agreement will be reached regarding Iran's nuclear program that peacefully and verifiably dismantles this program, or military action will occur. He has expressed a preference for achieving this goal peacefully. The agency warns: Iran's uranium stockpile is nearing bomb-making levels. A Trump administration diplomat stated: 'We probably need to destroy Iran's nuclear program.' A senior Republican senator said: 'The Iranian government must completely stop enrichment.' The European troika urged: 'Iran must immediately cease nuclear escalation.'