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IAEA Board Orders Iran to Cooperate ‘Urgently’ with Probe

The quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday (EPA)
The quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday (EPA)
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IAEA Board Orders Iran to Cooperate ‘Urgently’ with Probe

The quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday (EPA)
The quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday (EPA)

The atomic watchdog's board of governors has passed a resolution ordering Iran to cooperate urgently with the agency's investigation into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.

The resolution says "it is essential and urgent" that Iran explains the origin of the uranium particles and more generally give the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all the answers it requires.

A diplomat from the Board of Governors told Asharq Al-Awsat that according to the IAEA Statute and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the issue could be referred to the UN Security Council.

The resolution was adopted on Thursday with 26 votes in favor out of 35, five abstentions, and two countries absent. Only Russia and China voted against it.

"The Agency has reiterated to Iran that at this meeting it expects to start receiving from Iran technically credible explanations on these issues, including access to locations and material, as well as the taking of samples as appropriate," according to the resolution.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani accused earlier the western countries of practicing “political pressure” on Iran.

Kanaani warned of the "adverse effects" of the motion on the remaining technical issues with the UN body.

A European diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat that it would be “wise” of Iran to cooperate with the IAEA.

“The western countries have many options” in case Iran didn’t show cooperation, the diplomat warned.

The European Union Ambassador to the IAEA, Stephan Klement, said that “the EU expects rapid and tangible progress to be achieved in the shortest time-frame and shall consider further action accordingly.”

“We stress that the implementation of modified Code 3.1 is a legal obligation for Iran under its CSA, which cannot be modified or suspended unilaterally, and urge Iran to resolve this issue.”

For his part, Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami backtracked previous statements he made Wednesday on the possibility of an IAEA delegation visiting Tehran. 

Eslami had announced that “for the moment, no visit of the agency is on the agenda.”

Yet, he affirmed on Thursday that any IAEA delegation may visit Iran.

Speaking to reporters after the first day of the Board of Governors meetings on Wednesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi rejected Iranian claims that the agency has been politicized and said Tehran needs to “start delivering something”.

Grossi expected Iran to start giving satisfactory answers during this visit.

Iran had reached an agreement with the agency last week on cooperating with the probe, following a visit of an Iranian delegation to Vienna and a meeting with Grossi.

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UN Warns US Aid Cuts Threaten Millions of Afghans with Famine

(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
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UN Warns US Aid Cuts Threaten Millions of Afghans with Famine

(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

Fresh US cuts to food assistance risk worsening already widespread hunger in Afghanistan, according to the World Food Program, which warned it can support just half the people in need -- and only with half rations.
In an interview with AFP, WFP's acting country director Mutinta Chimuka urged donors to step up to support Afghanistan, which faces the world's second-largest humanitarian crisis, AFP said.

A third of the population of around 45 million people needs food assistance, with 3.1 million people on the brink of famine, the UN says.

"With what resources we have now barely eight million people will get assistance across the year and that's only if we get everything else that we are expecting from other donors," Chimuka said.

The agency already has been "giving a half ration to stretch the resources that we have", she added.

In the coming months, WFP usually would be assisting two million people "to prevent famine, so that's already a huge number that we're really worried about", Chimuka said.

Already grappling with a 40 percent drop in funding for this year globally, and seeing a decline in funding for Afghanistan in recent years, WFP has had to split the standard ration -- designed to meet the daily minimum recommended 2,100 kilocalories per person.

"It's a basic package, but it's really life-saving," said Chimuka. "And we should, as a global community, be able to provide that."
WFP, like other aid agencies, has been caught in the crosshairs of funding cuts by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order freezing all foreign aid for three months shortly after his inauguration in January.

Emergency food aid was meant to be exempt, but this week WFP said the United States had announced it was cutting emergency food aid for 14 countries, including Afghanistan, amounting to "a death sentence for millions of people" if implemented.

Washington quickly backtracked on the cuts for six countries, but Afghanistan -- run by Taliban authorities who fought US-led troops for decades -- was not one of them.

If additional funding doesn't come through, "Then there's the possibility that we may have to go to communities and tell them we're not able to support them. And how do they survive?"

She highlighted the high levels of unemployment and poverty in the country, one of the world's poorest where thousands of Afghans are currently being repatriated from Pakistan, many without most of their belongings or homes to go to.

'Vicious cycle'
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, this week urged international donors to keep supporting Afghanistan, saying 22.9 million needed assistance this year.

"If we want to help the Afghan people escape the vicious cycle of poverty and suffering, we must continue to have the means to address urgent needs while simultaneously laying the groundwork for long-term resilience and stability," said Indrika Ratwatte, the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, in a statement.

The statement warned that lack of international aid in Afghanistan could lead to increased migration and strain on the broader region.

The call for funding comes as other countries including Germany and Britain have also made large cuts to overseas aid.

But the Trump administration cut has been the deepest. The United States was traditionally the world's largest donor, with the biggest portion in Afghanistan -- $280 million -- going to WFP last fiscal year, according to US State Department figures.

But other UN agencies, as well as local and international NGOs are being squeezed or having to shut down completely, straining the network of organisations providing aid in Afghanistan.

The Trump administration also ended two programs -- one in Afghanistan -- with the UN Population Fund, an agency dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive health, the agency said Monday.

And other organisations working on agriculture -- on which some 80 percent of Afghans depend to survive -- and malnutrition are impacted.

"We all need to work together," said Chimuka. "And if all of us are cut at the knees... it doesn't work."