UN Security Council to meet over Iran's stockpile of uranium

The United Nations Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday over Iran's growing stock of nearly weapons grade uranium, diplomats said on Monday.

Six UN Security Council members—France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, Britain, and the US—called for the urgent meeting to discuss Iran's non-compliance with IAEA requests for information on undeclared nuclear material, the sources said.

They want Iran to provide the UN watchdog with "the information necessary to clarify outstanding issues related to undeclared nuclear material detected at multiple locations in Iran," diplomats said.

The request also calls for discussions on Iran's obligations under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

The IAEA has warned of Iran’s rapid uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level.

Western states argue that uranium enrichment to such high levels is unjustifiable for civilian purposes and unprecedented outside of nuclear weapons programs.

Tehran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s UN mission has not commented on the news.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Britain, Germany, France, the US, Russia, and China, trading sanctions relief for nuclear program restrictions.

The US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 under President Trump, prompting Iran to scale back its commitments.

Britain, France, and Germany have informed the UN Security Council of their readiness to trigger a "snapback" of international sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a measure they will lose the ability to enact on October 18th.

Trump has instructed his UN envoy to collaborate with allies on reimposing sanctions.

On Monday, Moscow's envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog said that the JCPOA remains the cornerstone for future Iran nuclear talks.

Speaking to Izvestia, Mikhail Ulyanov warned that the current deadlock risks uncontrolled escalation, emphasizing the JCPOA's irreplaceable role as a starting point for new negotiations, despite its "half-disassembled state" and IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, calling JCPOA "an empty shell" last month.