Iran Denounces UN Nuclear Watchdog Report, Accuses Israel and West of Political Pressure By The Media Line Staff Iran rejected a new report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Saturday, accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of relying on Israeli-supplied misinformation and acting under political pressure from Western governments. The confidential report, compiled […]
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The Media Line: Iran Denounces UN Nuclear Watchdog Report, Accuses Israel and West of Political Pressure
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Iran Denounces UN Nuclear Watchdog Report, Accuses Israel and West of Political Pressure
By The Media Line Staff
Iran rejected a new report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Saturday, accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of relying on Israeli-supplied misinformation and acting under political pressure from Western governments. The confidential report, compiled at the request of the IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors, outlines years of undeclared Iranian nuclear activity and a sharp increase in uranium enrichment, raising alarm in Jerusalem and Washington.
According to the IAEA, Iran enriched 408.6 kilograms of uranium to 60% purity as of May 17—enough, if refined further, for nine nuclear bombs. The report found that Iran had not declared nuclear material at three sites—Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, and Turquzabad—where inspectors also uncovered evidence of secret weapons-related work dating to the early 2000s. Iran failed to offer credible answers and allegedly sanitized the sites, hindering verification.
The report marks a turning point: it is the most explicit accusation in nearly two decades that Iran violated its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded on Saturday: “Such a level of enrichment exists only in countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons and has no civilian justification whatsoever.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the report as “politically motivated,” claiming it distorts the scope of Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA and ignores Western violations of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Tehran said it would take “appropriate countermeasures” if the Board of Governors uses the report to justify punitive action when it meets on June 9.
President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a peaceful resolution. “We have a chance of making a deal with Iran. They don’t want to be blown up,” he told reporters. According to the White House, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has submitted a new diplomatic proposal.
Despite Tehran’s insistence that its program is peaceful, the IAEA warned that Iran remains the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium to 60%, a level with no civilian purpose.