IAEA exposes Iran's secret nuclear activities – Reuters
Illustrative photo: Depositphotos

Iran has been conducting clandestine nuclear activities with materials not declared to the UN nuclear watchdog at at least three sites in the country, according to a wide-ranging confidential report from the International Atomic Energy Agency seen by Reuters.

The document summarizes the events of recent years and more clearly points to coordinated, secret activities that were related to the production of nuclear weapons.

"The agency concluded that Iran did not declare nuclear material and related activities at three undeclared sites in Iran, namely, Lavisan-Shi'an, Varamin, and Turkuzabad," the report said.

According to the agency, because of these findings, the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany are demanding that the IAEA declare Iran in violation of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

The countries plan to submit a draft resolution for adoption by the IAEA Board of Directors at its next meeting on June 9. This will be the first time in almost 20 years that Iran has been officially recognized as non-compliant.

Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency rejected the report in a joint statement, calling it "politically motivated." They said Tehran would take "appropriate measures" in response to any attempts to take action against the country at the IAEA Board of Directors meeting.

As Reuters notes, all this is likely to further complicate nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

To date, five rounds of negotiations have taken place and a sixth is planned between the US and Iran on a new nuclear deal. The parties cannot agree on the point regarding uranium enrichment: the United States insists on its complete cessation, but Iran wants to continue enrichment within the framework of civil energy development.