The International Atomic Energy Agency’s top inspector said that Iran is not cooperating with international inspectors investigating uranium particles discovered in a Tehran warehouse, Bloomberg news reported on Thursday.
Two officials who asked not to be identified told the news agency that the inspector, Massimo Aparo, had told diplomats in a closed-door meeting in Vienna on Wednesday that Iran is evading attempts to discover the source of man-made and natural uranium particles detected at the warehouse earlier this year.
The site in question is the one that was identified by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his address before the UN General Assembly last year.
Reports in April indicated that the IAEA had inspected the secret atomic warehouse. Subsequent reports said the facility was found to contain traces of uranium.
Thursday’s report came as IAEA acting director General Cornel Feruta convened an extraordinary meeting of the 35-member board of governors to discuss the new concerns. The Romanian diplomat said only last month that Iran had taken “a step in the right direction” in attempting to clarify matters troubling inspectors.
“Iran should provide full and timely cooperation,” the IAEA said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. “The IAEA is ready to continue interactions with Iran with a view to resolving the matter as soon as possible.”
During Thursday’s discussion, the IAEA confirmed that Iran began violating the 2015 nuclear deal by preparing to enrich uranium.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later responded to the IAEA confirmation and called on the international community to act against Iranian aggression.
Iran’s moves are part of its efforts to scale back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement last May.
