IAEA Board Passes Resolution Chiding Iran on Uranium Trace

FILE - An inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency sets up surveillance equipment, at the Uranium Conversion Facility of Iran, just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran, Aug. 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Mehdi Ghasemi, ISNA, File )
FILE - An inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency sets up surveillance equipment, at the Uranium Conversion Facility of Iran, just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran, Aug. 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Mehdi Ghasemi, ISNA, File )
TT
20

IAEA Board Passes Resolution Chiding Iran on Uranium Trace

FILE - An inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency sets up surveillance equipment, at the Uranium Conversion Facility of Iran, just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran, Aug. 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Mehdi Ghasemi, ISNA, File )
FILE - An inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency sets up surveillance equipment, at the Uranium Conversion Facility of Iran, just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran, Aug. 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Mehdi Ghasemi, ISNA, File )

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency that includes 35 members has made an overwhelming majority vote to criticize Iran for a lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear inspectorate.

The resolution on Wednesday criticized Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.

Only two countries, Russia and China, opposed the text while 30 voted in favor and three – Libya, Pakistan and India - abstained.

The text says the board "expresses profound concern" the traces remain unexplained due to insufficient cooperation by Iran and calls on Iran to engage with the watchdog "without delay".

“We are not taking this action to escalate a confrontation for political purposes. We seek no such escalation,” said US Ambassador Laura S.H. Holgate in a statement delivered at the board meeting in Vienna.

“The Board of Governors has a responsibility to take appropriate action in support of the Director General, the Secretariat, and the international safeguards regime to hold Iran accountable to its safeguards obligations. Iran must cooperate with the IAEA to allow it to fulfill its verification and monitoring mandate without further delay.”

Asked whether the IAEA decision would affect the talks held in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, a Western diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat that the negotiations have been deadlocked since March despite the efforts exerted by the European Union, which is acting as a mediator between Tehran and the US.

Iran turned off two surveillance devices Wednesday used by UN inspectors to monitor its uranium enrichment. The move appeared to be a new pressure technique just before the IAEA’s Board of Governors meeting.

After the vote, a joint statement from France, Germany, and the UK and the US said the censure “sends an unambiguous message to Iran that it must meet its safeguards obligations and provide technically credible clarifications on outstanding safeguards issues.”

Iran's Foreign Ministry criticized the censure as a “political, incorrect and unconstructive action.”

An Iranian official earlier warned IAEA officials that Tehran was now considering taking “other measures” as well.

“We hope that they come to their senses and respond to Iran’s cooperation with cooperation,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. “It is not acceptable that they show inappropriate behavior while Iran continues to cooperate.”

Meanwhile, Iran's state TV reported on Wednesday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran has presented a new proposal to Washington to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.



Rubio Holds Talks with Russia’s Lavrov as Ukraine Tensions Soar

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
TT
20

Rubio Holds Talks with Russia’s Lavrov as Ukraine Tensions Soar

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart met Thursday in Malaysia as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow’s increasing attacks on Ukraine and whether Russia's leader is serious about a peace deal.

Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, European nations and the US.

The meeting lasted around 50 minutes. Rubio was seen winking at Lavrov afterward as reporters shouted questions, which they both ignored.

The meeting was their second encounter since Rubio took office, although they have spoken by phone several times. Their first meeting took place in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as the Trump administration sought to test Russia and Ukraine on their willingness to make peace.

Thursday's meeting occurred shortly after the US resumed some shipments of defensive weapons to Ukraine following a pause, ostensibly for the Pentagon to review domestic munitions stocks, that was cheered in Moscow.

The resumption comes as Russia fires escalating air attacks on Ukraine and as US President Donald Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Putin is not, he’s not treating human beings right," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, explaining the pause’s reversal. "It’s killing too many people. So we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I’ve approved that."

Rubio was also seeing other foreign ministers, including many whose countries face tariffs set to be imposed Aug. 1. The tariff threat could overshadow the top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia, just as the US seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

Rubio sought to assuage concerns as he held group talks with ASEAN foreign ministers.

"The Indo Pacific, the region, remains a focal point of US foreign policy," he told them. "When I hear in the news that perhaps the United States or the world might be distracted by events in other parts of the planet, I would say distraction is impossible, because it is our strong view and the reality that this century and the story of next 50 years will largely be written here in this region."

"These are relationships and partnerships that we intend to continue to build on without seeking the approval or the permission of any other actor in the region of the world," Rubio said in an apparent reference to China.

Trump notified several countries on Monday and Wednesday that they will face higher tariffs if they don’t make trade deals with the US. Among them are eight of ASEAN's 10 members.

US State Department officials said tariffs and trade won't be Rubio’s focus during the meetings, which Trump’s Republican administration hopes will prioritize maritime safety and security in the South China Sea, where China has become increasingly aggressive toward its small neighbors, as well as combating transnational crime.

But Rubio may be hard-pressed to avoid the tariff issue that has vexed some of Washington's closest allies and partners in Asia, including Japan and South Korea and most members of ASEAN, which Trump says would face 25% tariffs if there is no deal.

Rubio also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has warned global trade is being weaponized to coerce weaker nations. Anwar urged the bloc Wednesday to strengthen regional trade and reduce reliance on external powers.

Rubio’s "talking points on the China threat will not resonate with officials whose industries are being battered by 30-40% tariffs," said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific during the Obama administration.

When Anwar said "ASEAN will approach challenges ‘as a united bloc’ he wasn’t talking about Chinese coercion but about US tariffs," Russel noted.

Majority of ASEAN members face major tariff hikes Among ASEAN states, Trump has announced tariffs on almost all of the bloc's 10 members.

Trump sent tariff letters to two more ASEAN members Wednesday: Brunei, whose imports would be taxed at 25%, and the Philippines at 20%. Others hit this week include Cambodia at 36%, Indonesia at 32%, Laos at 40%, Malaysia at 25%, Myanmar at 40% and Thailand at 36%.

Vietnam recently agreed to a trade deal for a 20% tariffs on its imports, while Singapore still faces a 10% tariff that was imposed in April. The Trump administration has courted most Southeast Asian nations in a bid to blunt or at least temper China’s push to dominate the region.

In Kuala Lumpur, Rubio also will likely come face-to-face with China's foreign minister during his visit of about 36 hours.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is a veteran of such gatherings and "fluent in ASEAN principles and conventions," while Rubio "is a rookie trying to sell an ‘America First’ message to a deeply skeptical audience," Russel noted.

Issues with China remain substantial, including trade, human rights, militarization of the South China Sea and China's support for Russia in Ukraine.

US officials continue to accuse China of resupplying and revamping Russia’s military industrial sector, allowing it to produce additional weapons that can be used to attack Ukraine.

Earlier on Thursday, Rubio signed a memorandum on civilian nuclear energy with Malaysia’s foreign minister, which will pave the way for negotiations on a more formal nuclear cooperation deal, known as a 123 agreement after the section of US law allowing such programs.

Those agreements allow the US government and US companies to work with and invest in civilian energy nuclear programs in other countries under strict supervision.