Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of failing to supervise Iran’s activities nuclear power, noting that the UN agency risks becoming a politicized body, and thus losing its relevance.
The unfamiliar criticism followed a report by the IAEA last week, which indicated that Iran had provided a satisfactory response regarding the discovery of suspected uranium particles, and that it had reinstalled some of the monitoring equipment initially put in place under the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal.
And with Iran enriching uranium to a purity of 60%, which is enough to make two nuclear bombs if the purity is increased, something Iran denies wanting or planning, Israel has increased its threats to launch preemptive military strikes if international diplomacy fails to stop Iran.
“Iran continues to lie to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency’s submission to Iranian pressure is a stain on its record,” Netanyahu told a meeting of the Israeli cabinet, in televised remarks.
He added, “If the International Atomic Energy Agency becomes a political organization, its monitoring activity in Iran and its reports on Iranian nuclear activity will be of no importance.”
On Wednesday, the agency said that after the investigation and the lack of progress over the previous years, Iran had provided a satisfactory answer regarding the finding of uranium particles at one of the three sites covered by the investigation.
A senior diplomat in Vienna said that these particles can be explained by the existence of a Soviet-era laboratory and mine there, noting that the International Atomic Energy Agency has no further questions.
In a clear reference to this, Netanyahu said: “Iran’s pretexts … regarding finding nuclear materials in prohibited sites, are not only unreliable, but also technically impossible.”
But the senior diplomat added, in an interview with Reuters, that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s assessment remains that Iran conducted explosives tests there decades ago that were related to nuclear weapons.
After former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran increased uranium enrichment.
Israeli and Western officials say Tehran could go from the 60 percent enrichment level to the 90 percent needed for nuclear weapons within a few weeks.
In a speech to the United Nations in 2012, Netanyahu considered Iran’s enrichment of uranium to a purity of 90% a “red line” that could lead to preemptive strikes.
However, experts are divided on whether Israel, which has an advanced military believed to be nuclear-armed, can inflict permanent damage on Iran’s sprawling, remote and well-protected facilities.
Israeli Energy Minister Yisrael Katz said: “In the event that we reach a decision point, where the two options are either Iran has a bomb, or we do something, then our decision will be to take action.”
“We are taking all preparations at this very moment,” Katz, a member of the Israeli security cabinet, said in radio statements.
France 24/AFP
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2023-06-05 01:59:06
