The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board of governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations on Thursday and Tehran announced counter-measures, as an Iranian official said a “friendly country” had warned it of a potential Israeli attack.
U.S. and Iranian officials will hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s escalating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday, according to U.S. and Omani officials.
But security fears have risen since U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday American personnel were being moved out of the region because “it could be a dangerous place” and that Tehran would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Washington is concerned that Israel could take military action against Iran in coming days, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity, despite Trump’s recent warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against such a strike while U.S. diplomacy continues with Tehran.
U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations to hit Iran’s nuclear installations. But one U.S. official said there was no sign that Israel had made a final decision.
Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if the nuclear talks do not yield a deal and said he has become less confident Tehran will agree to stop enriching uranium. The Islamic Republic wants a lifting of U.S. sanctions imposed on it since 2018.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that even if the country’s nuclear facilities were destroyed by bombs they would be rebuilt, state media reported on Thursday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s policy-making Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting it to the U.N. Security Council.
The step is the culmination of a series of stand-offs between the IAEA and Iran since Trump pulled the U.S. out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that accord unravelled.
An IAEA official said Iran had responded by informing the U.N. watchdog that it plans to open a third uranium enrichment plant.
After the IAEA decision, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Tehran’s actions undermined the global Non-Proliferation Treaty and posed an imminent threat to regional and international security and stability.
Iran is a signatory to the NPT. Israel is not, and is believed to have the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal.
The IAEA’s ruling will add to the “complexity” of Sunday’s nuclear talks with the U.S., Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, according to state media. “However, we will be in Muscat…to defend the rights of the Iranian nation,” he added.
Market Reaction
Oil prices initially rose after Trump’s announcement but later eased. Shares in European airlines, travel companies and hotel chains were among the biggest fallers in morning trade as investors worried the tensions would knock demand.
“Clearly it is Iran that is at the centre of this and the possibility that you see a strike from the U.S. or Israel,” said Paul McNamara, a director of emerging market debt for investment firm GAM. “There is a lot of scope for things to get a whole lot worse if we do see a military strike and a sustained attack.”
Foreign energy companies were continuing operations as usual, a senior Iraqi official overseeing operations in southern oilfields told Reuters.
Iran’s response to the IAEA resolution was among several countermeasures being taken, Iranian state TV said.
The IAEA official said Tehran had given no further details on the planned new enrichment site, such as its location to enable monitoring by U.N. nuclear inspectors.
‘Potential Israeli Strike’
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a “friendly” country had alerted Tehran to a potential strike on its nuclear sites by Israel.
Iranian state media reported that Iran’s military had begun drills earlier than planned to focus on “enemy movements”.
Iranian retaliation for any Israeli attack will be “more forceful and destructive” than in the past, Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami told state media.
Source: Reuters/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma