Radioactive remnants of undeclared tests by Iran are believed to be involved

International Atomic Energy Agency finds evidence against Iran

photo_camera PHOTO / REUTERS - Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran technicians in a control room at the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan, Iran

Samples collected during the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) inspection of Iran last October contained radioactive traces, according to a report accessed by the Wall Street Journal. This would imply that Iran has been conducting undeclared nuclear tests.

Iran agreed in 2015 with other nuclear powers, including the United States, to scale back its nuclear programme, demonstrate that it was for peaceful use and allow IAEA inspectors to make routine visits to its facilities to check that the agreement, known as the JCPOA, was being complied with.

However, following the US exit from the agreement by Donald Trump's decision and the re-imposition of sanctions, all the effort made up to then went down the drain, as Iran returned to its usual rhetoric and, what is worse, accompanied it with decisions that have once again boosted its nuclear programme by increasing the production of enriched uranium and upgrading some of its facilities.

The IAEA's discovery of these radioactive remnants would confirm that Iran's non-compliance with the JCPOA goes far beyond what it has been announcing, something that some countries, such as Israel, had already been predicting. In recent weeks, Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads over who should take the first step in trying to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Atalayar_Hasán Rohaní, presidente de Irán, jefe programa nuclear_0

The Biden administration has always maintained a conciliatory message, indicating its willingness to rejoin the JCPOA or even propose a new framework, something shared by the UK. However, the latest decisions by Iran, which we should remember is still part of the JCPOA and should therefore fulfil its part of the commitments, have nuanced the US discourse, as the White House warns that it will not return to the negotiating table until Iran once again fulfils what has been agreed.

For its part, Iran blames the United States for the escalation, given that its exit from the JCPOA broke the basis of the agreement and that only after its return to the agreement will it return to compliance with what was agreed in 2015. However, the October finding would show that Iran has moved beyond blackmail rhetoric, and that part of its nuclear programme is still hidden from IAEA inspectors. Indeed, Tehran has warned that it will block the inspectors' return visit in the coming weeks.

Although the inspectors cannot indicate what the debris is, the location where it was collected could indicate that Tehran has been testing nuclear weapons. Both Israel and the Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, have expressed concern over the US change of position. Israel has warned that abandoning the hard line taken by Donald Trump would encourage Iranian intentions and that both Israel and the Gulf states will stand firm in their opposition to the ayatollahs' country.

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