IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
Statement by H. E. Mr Richard Sadleir, Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Agenda Item 5: Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015)
13-17 September 2021
Australia is a strong and longstanding supporter of the critical work being undertaken by the Director General and his staff at the IAEA with respect to verification and monitoring activities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We welcome and fully support the Agency’s tireless efforts to preserve and maintain its continuity of knowledge over Iran’s nuclear activities. But we note with concern that the Agency’s confidence in maintaining continuity of knowledge is declining over time.
Iran’s 23 February 2021 decision to stop the implementation of nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA, including the Additional Protocol (AP), is deeply regrettable and deeply concerning.
In the absence of an Additional Protocol, the IAEA is denied the additional access, verification tools and information required to assure the international community of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities.
We are deeply concerned by the repeated failure by Iran to respond to the IAEA’s requests for access to its monitoring equipment since May 2021 which, despite recent undertakings by Iran, has undermined the Agency’s verification and monitoring activties. We thank the Director General for his weekend visit to Iran.
Noting the 12 September joint statement between the IAEA and Iran, we call on Iran to immediately allow the IAEA to access all of its monitoring equipment and install replacement equipment where necessary.
We further call on Iran to fully account for the damage to Agency cameras and data storage media as described in the Director-General’s report.
Australia remains concerned by Iran’s production and stockpile of enriched uranium and related centrifuge and technology development. The total stockpile is an order of magnitude greater than the limit imposed under the JCPOA. We are particularly concerned at the growth of highly enriched uranium in the stockpile, including an estimated 10kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent U-235.
Taken as a whole, these activities have serious and irreversible implications. They work against the international community’s shared interest in security, stability and non-proliferation.
Australia continues to support the nuclear non-proliferation objectives of the JCPOA. We call for the early resumption of talks and hope, like many others, for a constructive outcome to this dialogue.
We reiterate our urgent call on Iran to reverse all of its steps away from the JCPOA and to recommit itself to the terms of the agreement.
We further urge Iran to return promptly to full implementation of the Additional Protocol and other JCPOA transparency commitments.
We request that the Director General continues to report further developments on these matters and ask that GOV/2021/39 and related interim reports be made public.
Thank you Chair.