Iran condemns IAEA nuclear referral

Iran has condemned a resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors that refers Tehran to the UN Security Council, calling it a politicized move that weakens the global non-proliferation system and ignores the war surrounding its nuclear sites. The resolution, drafted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, passed with 23 votes in favor, while Russia, China and Niger opposed it and eight countries abstained. It is the first referral of Iran to the Security Council over nuclear obligations in two decades.

Iran’s mission in Vienna said the decision was adopted without consent and claimed it would accelerate the collapse of the proliferation regime. Tehran blamed the nuclear crisis on U.S. and Israeli military attacks, saying those strikes on safeguarded nuclear facilities and other targets created the current standoff. It rejected Western calls for diplomacy as hypocritical, arguing that the same powers publicly support negotiation while using force in violation of international law and the UN Charter.

The Iranian mission also accused the United States and Israel of causing civilian deaths in what it described as unlawful aggression, including the killing of children and wedding guests. It said the Western powers would not reverse their defeat by forcing through what it called a biased resolution.

Iran’s envoy in Vienna, Reza Najafi, also dismissed the resolution as a political tool and said Iran would cooperate with inspections only as far as security conditions allow. The IAEA has lacked access to some Iranian nuclear sites since a military offensive damaged safeguarded facilities, and that access has remained blocked amid ongoing conflict. Analysts say the referral may be symbolically significant but is unlikely to produce new punitive action at the Security Council, where Russia and China are expected to block any further measures.