On June 9, the world’s six major powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States—issued the following statement on Iran’s nuclear program to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. It was read by Ambassador Glyn Davies, the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Our six governments wish to thank the Director General for his latest report on the "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of the UNSC Resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran." We commend the Secretariat once more for its efforts to pursue its verification mission in Iran and we reaffirm that the IAEA must play an essential role in establishing international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.
As the Director General has underscored repeatedly, Iran's cooperation with the IAEA is essential to offer any assurance that Iran's nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful. The Director General’s latest report makes it clear that Iran is not implementing a number of its obligations under the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, that outstanding issues which give rise to concerns about possible military dimensions to its nuclear program remain, and that the Agency is therefore unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran. In this regard, we note that the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of UNSC resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were adopted under Chapter VII (Article 41) of the UN Charter, is mandatory.
Iran’s consistent failure to comply with its obligations under six UNSC resolutions and to meet the requirements of ten IAEA Board of Governors resolutions has deepened concerns raised by the international community with Iran's nuclear intentions. In particular, we note the letter sent by Director General Amano to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran reiterating the Agency’s concerns about the existence of possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program, emphasizing the importance of clarifying these issues, and requesting prompt access to a range of places, individuals, and information associated with the PMD issue. Iran’s most recent correspondence with the IAEA does not address our concerns regarding Iran’s lack of willingness to cooperate with the Agency.
We call on Iran to cooperate fully with the Agency, including prompt implementation and ratification of the Additional Protocol, applying the modified Code 3.1 of the subsidiary arrangements to its Safeguards Agreement, and implementing all transparency measures, as requested by the Agency. Outstanding issues need to be resolved in order to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program.
Our six countries, working together with the EU High Representative, have attempted on several occasions, most recently at the January meeting in Istanbul, to engage Iran in a constructive dialogue on the basis of reciprocity and a step-by-step approach that might find a comprehensive, negotiated, long-term solution – involving the full implementation by Iran of UNSC and IAEA BoG resolutions – to the confidence crisis that exists with respect to Iran's nuclear program. Those attempts did not reach any substantive result, as Iran was not prepared to enter into a genuine dialogue without preconditions. We reaffirm our unity of purpose and collective determination through direct diplomacy based on these principles and in the context of our dual-track strategy to resolve our shared concerns about Iran's nuclear program.
We remain committed to a peaceful resolution of the international community's concerns, which we believe can be best achieved through a constructive diplomatic process. We remain ready to participate actively in the E3+3 process with Iran. This was reiterated by the EU High Representative in her last letter to the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran. We reaffirm our June 2008 offer and the proposals that we made in Istanbul in January. We look to Iran to respond in a similarly positive and constructive spirit.
We continue to support Iran's peaceful use of nuclear energy, a NPT right that must be exercised in conformity with Iran's obligations under the treaty. We urge Iran to provide necessary cooperation with the Agency, consistent with its IAEA and UNSC obligations, so as to create the conditions for the Agency to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran.
We call on Iran to take practical, positive steps in response to our proposals and our openness to dialogue and negotiations.