Iran broke nuclear agreements, UN watchdog says

Iran isn’t following its nuclear safeguards agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared in a Thursday resolution. The United Nations nuclear watchdog, also known as the IAEA, said Iran was enriching uranium in at least three undeclared locations. Iran has also refused to provide full information or access to its facilities since 2019, according to the IAEA. The statement marked the first time in 20 years that the IAEA formally accused Iran of noncompliance, according to the Associated Press.

The agency supports indirect talks toward a nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States. The next round of talks is scheduled to begin Sunday, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The talks will take place in the capital city of Oman, which sits across the water from Iran by the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea

How did Iran respond to the IAEA resolution? Iranian agencies on Thursday called the resolution a biased political measure backed by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, according to a joint statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. The atomic organization said it would build a new uranium enrichment facility in a secure location and update technology at another center. Additional measures were in the works, it said.

Dig deeper: Read my report on Iran’s recent expansion of dog walking bans.