US, European allies to table Iran censure resolution at IAEA meeting

France, Britain, Germany, and the United States will introduce a censure resolution against Iran at the upcoming meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors despite Tehran's threats to retaliate, Iran International has learned.

The resolution seeks to formally rebuke Tehran over its failure to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog and urges the Islamic Republic to take appropriate steps in this regard, a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Iran International on Monday.

The decision by the US and its European allies to move forward with the censure resolution comes despite Iran's threat to retaliate if such a resolution is adopted.

"If the IAEA Board of Governors passes a censure resolution against Iran, the Islamic Republic will undoubtedly take reciprocal action and implement new measures in its nuclear program, which they will certainly not like," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the state TV on Saturday.

The IAEA Board of Governors will convene its regular November meeting in Vienna at 10:30 CET on Wednesday, 20 November. Board discussions are expected to include verification and monitoring in Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) as well as the NPT safeguards agreement with Tehran, according to an IAEA press release.

The meeting will be held one week after the IAEA director general met Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran. In the meeting, Pezeshkian said Iran was prepared to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog to clear up "alleged ambiguities about the peaceful nuclear activity of our country".

Iran allowed Grossi and his team to tour Fordow and Natanz, two key nuclear sites, on Friday apparently in hopes that it would convince the Board of Governors not to move forward with the censure resolution. However, that strategy does not seem to have worked.

“Iran has not fulfilled its obligations under the NPT and Safeguards Agreements. The recent visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran has not changed this assessment," the German foreign ministry spokesperson told Iran International.

Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, Britain, the US, and Venezuela are the 35 members of the Board of Governors for 2024-2025.

According to the Rules and Procedures of the Board of Governors, decisions on most matters require a simple majority vote of the Members present and voting. However, certain key decisions, such as those related to the Agency's budget, the appointment of the Director General, and the reconsideration of proposals or amendments, require a two-thirds majority vote.