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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency has declared that Iran is non-compliant with its nuclear obligations in a key vote.
Why It Matters
It is the first time Iran has been non-compliant in 20 years. The move could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore U.N. sanctions on Tehran later this year.
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What To Know
Iran immediately reacted to the declaration, saying it will establish a new enrichment facility after the vote against it. The announcement said the facility will be "in a secure location" and that "other measures are also being planned."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution," the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a joint statement.
Trump 'Dangerous' Warning as Israel Strikes Loom
Israel may be preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities imminently.
As tensions mount, Washington has begun evacuating embassy personnel in Baghdad and other countriescities in the region, with President Donald Trump saying the Middle East "could be a dangerous place."
Tehran vowed to unleash an "unprecedented response" if Israel launches a military strike.
Speaking to Iranian state television after the vote, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that his agency immediately informed the IAEA of "specific and effective" actions Tehran would take.
"One is the launch of a third secure site" for enrichment, spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said. He did not elaborate on the location.
Iran has two underground sites at Fordo and Natanz and has been building tunnels in the mountains near Natanz since suspected Israeli sabotage attacks targeted that facility.
The other step would be replacing old centrifuges for advanced ones at Fordo. "The implication of this is that our production of enriched materials will significantly increase," Kamalvandi said.
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IAEA Lists Iran's 'Many Failures'
According to the draft resolution, "Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran…constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement."
Under those obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses.
The draft resolution also finds that the IAEA's "inability…to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council, as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security."
The draft resolution made a direct reference to the U.S.-Iran talks, stressing its "support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear program, including the talks between the United States and Iran, leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran's nuclear activities, encouraging all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy."
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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