“We note with serious concern Iran’s announcement on November 22, 2024 that… it plans to respond with further expansion of its nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful rationale,” the four countries said in their statement published on the website of the UK Foreign Office on Sunday.
The statement failed to acknowledge Iran’s ongoing cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which was reaffirmed during a recent visit by IAEA Secretary General Rafael Grossi to the country.
“We expect Iran to reengage on the path of dialogue and cooperation with the agency,” it said. The US and E3 called on Iran to provide the necessary information to resolve outstanding issues so that the agency can verify that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.
On Thursday, the IAEA’s Board of Governors passed a motion of censure against Iran brought by the US and the three European countries. It was adopted with 19 votes in favor, 12 abstentions, and 3 votes against.
After the resolution was passed, Iran announced that it would significantly increase its uranium enrichment capacity by installing thousands of new advanced centrifuges.
Tehran had warned that any confrontational action by the IAEA would be met with a forceful response.
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