Israeli official says 'decisive moments' on Iran closer after IAEA shuts nuclear probes
The recent report by IAEA showing increased enrichment alongside statements saying Iran has provided answers on two probes surrounding undeclared activity have had Israeli decision-makers on edge.
Earlier on Thursday the Israeli Foreign Ministry slammed the IAEA for its decision to end the probe into two cases of undeclared nuclear activity, which have been a sticking point between Iran and the West on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
He continued: "The yielding of the Director General of the IAEA and the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iranian political pressure is very disappointing, mainly because the information in the file implicitly points to two faces of blatant Iranian violations of the inspection agreements. Closing the case could have extremely dangerous consequences, and it conveys a message to the Iranians that they are not required to pay a price for their violations and that they can continue to deceive the international community on their way to achieving a full military nuclear program. In addition, closing the case in this manner severely damages the professional credibility of the IAEA.
The two confidential quarterly reports by the Vienna-based IAEA, distributed to member states of the organization, said inspectors no longer had questions on uranium particles found to be enriched to 83.7% at its underground Fordo facility. That had sparked tensions over the last several months as uranium enriched to 90% is weapons-grade material. Iran had argued those particles were a byproduct of its current enrichment as particles can reach higher enrichment levels in fluctuations.
"The agency informed Iran that, following its evaluation of the data, the agency had assessed that the information provided was not inconsistent with Iran's explanation ... and that the agency had no further questions on this matter at this stage," the reports said.
The report said investigators also have closed off their investigation of traces of man-made uranium found at Marivan, near the city of Abadeh, some 525 kilometers (325 miles) southeast of Tehran.
Analysts had repeatedly linked Marivan to Iran's secret military nuclear program and accused Iran of conducting high-explosives tests there in the early 2000s. The IAEA reports seen Wednesday also referenced that "Iran conducted explosive experiments with protective shielding in preparation for the use of neutron detectors and nuclear material" at the site.
The report said that "another member state" operated a mine in the area in the 1960s and 1970s under the rule of then-Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It wasn't immediately clear which nation was involved in the mining.
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