The US Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) walked out of a closed door meeting on Syria Monday, after his Iranian counterpart reportedly accused close ally Israel of “genocide” during his statement to the UN’s nuclear watchdog as part of its March board meeting.
His exit was swiftly followed by those of the Canadian and Australian envoys, before all three apparently later returned to resume the first talks since last week’s P5+1 negotiations with Iran in Kazakhstan.
Earlier Monday, in a preliminary statement to the Board of Governors meeting as part of a debate on the Islamist regime’s contested nuclear weapons programme, US Ambassador to the IAEA Joseph Macmanus accused Iran of having “ignored multiple opportunities to begin substantive cooperation with the IAEA on all outstanding issues of concern”, as well as withholding “cooperation while broadening and deepening violations of its international obligations” as part of a pattern of increasingly provocative actions.
“We are deeply concerned with what appears to be Iran's unwavering commitment to deception, defiance, and delay,” he added, as he cautioned that continuing on this path would inevitably lead to “further isolation, pressure and censure from the international community”.
In an introductory statement to the board, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano further reiterated that “Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable us to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities”, in the absence of which he said, the IAEA “therefore cannot conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities”.
Despite Iran’s upbeat conclusions regarding its latest talks with international negotiators from P5+1 (France, Germany, China, Russia, the UK and the US) and despite western sources only conceding they had proved “useful”, Amano concluded that its recent negotiations with the Islamist regime had not produced results. Committing to diplomacy as the expedient route to resolving the issue, he warned nevertheless that “dialogue should produce results”.
Last month, the latest IAEA report on Iran revealed its observation team had noted “Iran had started the installation of IR-2m centrifuges” – its most advanced technology to date – enabling it to dramatically speed up the process of uranium enrichment.
Elsewhere, at a UN Security Council briefing Wednesday, the US envoy to the UN Susan E. Rice told the committee that not only was Iran’s latest uranium enrichment upgrade “unnecessary”, but it “neither builds international confidence nor brings us closer to a comprehensive and peaceful solution. On the contrary, they raise the world’s concerns”.
“For this very reason, the work of the Iran Sanctions Committee is vital. As long as Iran rejects its international obligations, we must be resolute in implementing fully the sanctions this Council has imposed,” she added.
Echoing the words of the IAEA Director-General, she stressed that “dialogue is only a means to an end”, as she concluded “we must see whether real progress towards a negotiated solution can result from this renewed process (with the P5+1). The process cannot continue indefinitely or be used as a stalling mechanism”.