Resolution Adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with Iran (GOV/2022/70)

Resolution adopted on 17 November during the 1654th session
November 17, 2022

Weapon Program: 

  • Nuclear

The Board of Governors,

(a) Commending the continued professional and impartial efforts of the IAEA Director General and the Secretariat to implement Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement,

(b) Emphasizing the essential and independent role of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s compliance with its NPT-required safeguards obligations,

(c) Stressing the importance of Iran’s compliance with its safeguards obligations and the need for Iran to cooperate fully and in a timely manner with the Agency with a view to clarifying and resolving the long outstanding safeguards issues detailed in the Director General’s report GOV/2022/63 and in several prior reports,

(d) Noting the Director General’s deep concern that undeclared nuclear material had been present at several undeclared locations in Iran and that its current location(s) are not known to the Agency, and his assessment that nuclear material used in Iran was not declared as required under Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement,

(e) Recalling the Board of Governors’ resolution of 19 June 2020 contained in GOV/2020/34 which called upon Iran to fully cooperate with the Agency and to satisfy the Agency’s requests without any further delay,

(f) Recalling the Board of Governors’ resolution of 8 June 2022 contained in GOV/2022/34 which called upon Iran to act on an urgent basis to fulfil its legal obligations and, without delay, take up the Director General’s offer of further engagement to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues,

(g) Underscoring the Director General’s conclusion that unless and until Iran provides technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at three undeclared locations and informs the Agency of the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or contaminated equipment, the Agency cannot confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran’s declarations under its NPT Safeguards Agreement,

(h) Noting with serious concern the Director General’s conclusion that these issues stem from Iran’s obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement between Iran and the Agency and need to be resolved for the Agency be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful,

(i) Expressing support for the Agency’s engagement with Iran to resolve the outstanding safeguards issues and sharing the Director General’s serious concern that there has been no progress towards clarifying and resolving them,

(j) Noting discussions, as referenced in the Director General’s latest report, between the Agency and Iran in September 2022 and on 7 November 2022, and noting the Director General’s expectation that, at the technical meeting in Tehran scheduled to take place before the end of November 2022, Iran begin substantive cooperation that includes providing the Agency with “technically credible explanations on these issues, including access to locations and material, as well as the taking of samples as appropriate”,

1. Strongly supports the Agency’s continued efforts to implement Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement, with the aim to provide assurance of the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme;

2. Expresses profound concern that the safeguards issues related to three undeclared locations remain outstanding due to insufficient substantive cooperation by Iran, despite numerous interactions with the Agency since 2019;

3. Decides it is essential and urgent in order to ensure verification of the non-diversion of nuclear material that Iran act to fulfil its legal obligations and, with a view to clarifying all outstanding safeguards issues, take the following actions without delay:

i. Provide technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at three undeclared locations in Iran;

ii. Inform the Agency of the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of the contaminated equipment;

iii. Provide all information, documentation, and answers the Agency requires for that purpose;

iv. Provide access to locations and material the Agency requires for that purpose, as well as for the taking of samples as deemed appropriate by the Agency;

4. Notes that the provision by Iran of this information and access and the subsequent verification by the IAEA pursuant to Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement is essential for the Secretariat to be in position to report the issues as no longer outstanding and thereby remove the need for the Board’s consideration and action on these issues;

5. Requests the Director General to report on the implementation of Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement and of this resolution for consideration by the March 2023 Board of Governors, or earlier if appropriate; and

6. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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