WANA (Nov 19) – The seasonal session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors opened today in Vienna, marking the first meeting since the expiration of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which formally removed Iran from the JCPOA-related agenda. As a result, Iran’s file will now be pursued solely within the framework of standard safeguards agreements. Despite this shift, Western countries are reportedly attempting to steer the meeting toward confrontational, politically driven objectives.

 

The session convened hours ago with representatives from the Board’s 35 member states and will continue through Friday. During this round, the governors are set to review a range of issues, including nuclear safety, implementation of safeguards agreements, and the Agency’s scientific and research activities.

 

According to the published agenda, references to Resolution 2231 and JCPOA-related obligations have been removed entirely. Iran is mentioned only under the section on safeguards agreements, indicating that JCPOA oversight has been officially excluded from the Board’s review process.

 

With the expiration of Resolution 2231’s 10-year mandate on October 18, 2025, the Director General’s JCPOA reporting duties have also concluded. Consequently, Iran’s case under the alleged “non-proliferation” category is no longer up for consideration by the Board of Governors.

 

Nevertheless, reports indicate that the United States and the E3—Britain, France, and Germany—are working to introduce a draft resolution during this session. The proposed text is said to center on alleged concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities and calls for new restrictions as well as continuous reporting on Iran’s nuclear material inventories.

 

The draft reportedly draws on the latest report by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, which stresses the need for the Agency to obtain “immediate access” to information on Iran’s declared nuclear material stocks. The text further claims that Iran, following the reactivation of the so-called “snapback” mechanism, must suspend all enrichment, reprocessing, research and development activities, and heavy-water projects. It also urges Iran to act in line with the Additional Protocol and provide full information on enriched uranium inventories and safeguarded facilities.

 

Iran’s Permanent Mission in Vienna issued a statement condemning the U.S.–E3 initiative as “a grave mistake” and “a deliberate attempt to politicize the Board of Governors.” The Mission warned that such confrontational approaches by Western states would be counterproductive, adding that adoption of the draft “would inevitably and adversely affect the positive trajectory of cooperation between Iran and the Agency.”

 

Reza Najafi, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Vienna, also stressed that the unlawful move by the United States and the European trio would not alter the current status of safeguards implementation in Iran—a situation he described as “a consequence of the criminal aggression carried out by the U.S. and the Zionist regime against Iran, compounded by the complicity of the three European countries.”

 

Najafi called on member states to oppose the destructive unilateralism of the U.S. and its European partners and reaffirmed Iran’s legal right to take appropriate action in response to any unlawful or unjustified measure.

 

According to the IAEA Secretariat’s schedule, Director General Rafael Grossi will deliver opening remarks today, outlining the Agency’s latest activities. As per routine, he is expected to brief the press afterward and answer questions from reporters.

WANA - IAEA