The International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors overwhelmingly passed a resolution Wednesday criticizing Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites, eliciting praise from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Bennett said the UN Security Council should address any future Iranian misconduct and welcomed the decision. Bennett said it "exposed Iran's true face."
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Only two countries, Russia and China, opposed the text while 30 voted in favor and three abstained. diplomats said.
The text says the board "expresses profound concern" the traces remain unexplained due to insufficient cooperation by Iran and calls on Iran to engage with the watchdog "without delay"
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran turned off two surveillance cameras of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog that monitored one of its atomic sites, state television reported Wednesday.
The Iranian state television report described the two cameras as monitoring "OLEM enrichment levels and flowmeters." That appeared to refer to the IAEA's Online Enrichment Monitors, which watch the enrichment of uranium gas through piping at enrichment facilities.
Iran currently is enriching at both its Fordo and Natanz underground nuclear sites.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has so far had extensive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," state TV said in its report. "Unfortunately, the agency, without considering this cooperation ... not only did not appreciate this cooperation but also considered it as a duty of Iran."
Tehran said its civilian nuclear arm, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, monitored the shutdown of the cameras. It said 80% of the existing cameras are IAEA "safeguard" cameras and they will continue to operate as before. Safeguards refer to the IAEA's inspections and monitoring of a country's nuclear program.
However, an Iranian official warned Tehran now was considering taking "other measures" as well.
"We hope that they come to their senses and respond to Iran's cooperation with cooperation," said Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. "It is not acceptable that they show inappropriate behavior while Iran continues to cooperate."
The Vienna-based IAEA declined to immediately comment. However, Iran's move come after IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi criticized Iran for failing to provide "credible information" about unexplained, man-made nuclear material discovered at three Iranian sites -- long a point of contention between the agency and Tehran.
Iran already has been holding footage from IAEA surveillance cameras since February 2021 as a pressure tactic to restore the atomic accord.
In a statement, Tuesday to the IAEA, France, Germany and the United Kingdom warned the moves taken by Tehran are "further reducing the time Iran would take to break out towards a first nuclear weapon and it is fueling distrust as to Iran's intentions."
"The IAEA has been without crucial access to data on centrifuge and component manufacturing for a year and a half now," the statement warned. "This means that neither the agency, nor the international community, know how many centrifuges Iran has in its inventory, how many were built, and where they may be located."
The countries urged Iran "to stop escalating its nuclear program and to urgently conclude deal that is on the table."
But just before the camera announcement, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran had insisted the country had no secret nuclear activity and accused the West of making a "political move" by trying to censure his country.
"Iran has had maximum cooperation with the IAEA," Mohammad Eslami said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
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