US, Europe Urge Iran To Cooperate With UN Nuclear Watchdog Amid Rising Israeli Concerns

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

VIENNA/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – The United States and key European nations have urged Iran to fully cooperate with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, warning that continued obstruction of inspections poses a growing threat to regional and global security.

A draft resolution submitted this week to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany calls on Tehran to provide immediate access to its nuclear sites, including the heavily fortified facilities at Fordo and Natanz.

Western officials say Iran has restricted IAEA inspectors and expanded activities that could advance its nuclear capabilities, raising alarm in Israel, which has long warned that Iran may be approaching weapons-grade enrichment capacity.

Israel’s government has not commented publicly on the draft resolution, but senior Israeli officials have repeatedly stressed that a nuclear-armed Iran would be an “existential threat” to the Jewish state.

TENSIONS AFTER JUNE WAR

Tensions between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared in recent years, but relations worsened following a 12-day war in June that saw Israeli and U.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.

Since the war, IAEA inspectors have not been granted access to critical sites such as Fordo and Natanz, which were among the facilities hit in the June attacks, although inspectors have been allowed to visit some other locations in Iran.

The IAEA has reported increasing difficulties verifying Iran’s nuclear activities since Tehran began limiting inspections following the collapse of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Western diplomats say the new resolution aims to push Iran back into compliance with international monitoring standards.

Iranian officials have denied wrongdoing, accusing the IAEA of politicizing inspections under pressure from the West.

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