Security Council to Discuss Iran's Highly Enriched Uranium... and Grossi Warns

The UN Security Council plans, tomorrow Wednesday, to host a closed session to review the issue of Iran's growing stock of highly enriched uranium, according to Reuters, in a move that embodies escalating global fears about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Six countries among the 15 Security Council members, including France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, Britain, and the United States, initiated the demand for this session, suggesting an increasing global consensus on the dangers of Iran's nuclear program.

Diplomats revealed to Reuters their intention to also call for the Council to review Iran's level of compliance in providing "the necessary data to clarify outstanding issues related to undeclared nuclear materials detected in several facilities inside Iran" to the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a gesture to the continuity of Tehran's policy of deception and evasion.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations has not yet rushed to issue any statement regarding this news, in a silence that reflects the embarrassment of the Iranian position.

The European Troika, which is Britain, France, and Germany, notified the Security Council of their readiness, if necessary, to resume the application of global sanctions on Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, in a position that confirms the seriousness of the European approach to the Iranian threat.

The time element in this context is of doubled importance, as the period of Iran's obligations under the nuclear agreement, based on Resolution 2231 issued by the UN Security Council on July 20, 2015, is approaching its end, and the parties that signed the agreement have only eight months until next October to activate the "snapback mechanism," i.e., restoring the application of canceled global sanctions on Tehran, and in this scenario, countries with veto power cannot obstruct the implementation of the "snapback mechanism."

For his part, US President Donald Trump directed the US representative at the United Nations to coordinate with Washington's partners to restore the application of global sanctions and restrictions on Iran, in an initiative that strengthens international efforts to contain the Iranian threat.

For her part, the EU Commissioner for Foreign Relations, Kaja Kallas, noted last Sunday that "we must adopt a stricter approach towards Iran," focusing on the inevitability of coordination with the United States regarding Tehran, in confirmation of the European-American consensus on the dangers of Iranian behavior.

During a press interview, Kallas reviewed the nature of Iran's nuclear program and Tehran's regional role, and also responded to a question about recent tensions in EU-US relations, announcing: "We have always considered ourselves loyal allies, and have always been friends and partners, and we cooperated on multiple files, including Ukraine and West Asia, and today we observe cooperation between countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, and I think this is one of the moments in which we should work as partners across the Atlantic."

In a related context, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, recently issued concerning warnings through an interview with Bloomberg, where he pointed out that sanctions have not proven effective, as Iran has clearly been able to overcome them, noting that Iran's nuclear program has witnessed significant expansion, especially since 2018.

Grossi reviewed the IAEA's assessment of Iran's uranium stockpile levels, and indicated that recent reports by international inspectors showed a 50% increase in the stockpile of highly enriched uranium during the past three quarters, a sign of alarming acceleration in Iran's nuclear program.

The head of the IAEA continued that the current stockpile level shortens the time gap between Iran and manufacturing a sufficient amount of fuel to produce a nuclear warhead to become "just a few days," which represents a direct challenge to regional and global peace and stability.