By Francois Murphy
VIENNA, June 8 (Reuters) – U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran on Monday to “re-engage” with him so inspections can resume at sites the U.S. and Israel bombed a year ago, as the U.S. led a push for a resolution to that effect at the agency’s board.
Iran still has not informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of what happened to those bombed nuclear sites or the nuclear material, including uranium enriched to near bomb grade, that was stored there.
While the bombings destroyed or badly damaged uranium-enrichment facilities, much of the highly enriched uranium, including some enriched to up to 60%, a short step from the roughly 90% of weapons grade, is thought to have survived.
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL ‘BROKEN’
“It’s very important that we re-engage,” Grossi told the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors on the first day of a quarterly meeting.
“I call on Iran to engage the Agency constructively in order to facilitate the full and effective implementation of safeguards in Iran,” he added in a separate, written statement to the board, using a term that encompasses inspections.
The IAEA has conducted some inspections at sites that were not bombed, but it halted those on safety grounds in February because of renewed military strikes, and has since only inspected Iran’s operating power plant at Bushehr.
“I have sporadic contacts with the foreign minister and others, but basically the channel of communication is broken,” Grossi told a press conference after he addressed the board.
At the same time, the U.S. led a push, formally backed by Britain, France and Germany, for the board to pass a resolution later this week ordering Iran to provide “precise information” on the bombed sites and enriched uranium “without delay”.
While diplomats said the resolution was likely to pass by a clear margin, as a similar one did in November, it risked complicating talks between the United States and Iran aimed at extending their ceasefire and paving the way for wider talks on issues including Iran’s nuclear programme.
TEHRAN WARNS THE BOARD
“Responsibility for an internationally wrongful act rests with the perpetrator and cannot be transferred to the victim. The Board must not be instrumentalized to relieve those who carried out these attacks of their responsibility,” Iran’s mission to the IAEA said on X, referring to the draft resolution and the fact the U.S. bombed its nuclear facilities.
Iran has bristled at previous board resolutions against it, usually responding by escalating its nuclear activities or scaling back cooperation with the IAEA.
“The Board should be cautious on the path forward. Coercion and confrontation do not lead to cooperation. It undermines prospects of a diplomatic solution,” it added.
Israel and Iran exchanged military strikes late on Sunday and on Monday, and U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that they “immediately stop ‘shooting'”.
Speaking to the Financial Times on Sunday after Iran fired missiles at Israel, Trump said: “It’s not going to have any impact on the deal (with Iran)”.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
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