UN watchdog chief welcomes Iran nuclear gesture as Western powers seek censure

European powers and the United States have submitted a resolution censuring Iran for its lack of cooperation on its nuclear dossier, despite the head of the UN watchdog on Wednesday welcoming "a concrete step" by Iran to cap its uranium stockpile.

As a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started in Vienna, diplomats told AFP that Paris, Berlin, London and Washington formally tabled a censure motion critical of Iran.

The resolution is expected to come to a vote on Thursday, the diplomats said.

The resolution follows a visit by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to Iran, where he also toured the country's major enrichment sites in Fordo and Natanz.

Speaking to reporters, Grossi welcomed Iran's "concrete step" on agreeing to cap its sensitive stockpile of highly enriched uranium. He said Tehran had implemented preparatory steps to stop adding to its inventory.

"I attach importance to the fact that for the first time -- since the distancing of Iran from its past obligations -- they are taking a different direction," he said.

But in a phone conversation with Grossi, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned of a "proportionate" response if the board passes the resolution, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Araghchi also said the move is "in clear contradiction to the positive atmosphere created in the interactions between Iran and the agency."

- 'Major proliferation risks' -

A senior diplomat voiced "scepticism" about Iran's last-minute offer to freeze its sensitive stockpile, saying it was "pretty disingenuous" as it did not require much effort and could be reversed.

With the planned censure motion, diplomats aim to raise diplomatic pressure on Iran to come back into compliance and address the IAEA's long-standing concerns.

According to the final version of the text seen by AFP, Western powers this time ask for a "comprehensive report" to be issued by Grossi "at the latest" by spring 2025.

The report would seek to shed more light on Iran's nuclear activities, including on Tehran's cooperation with the agency on uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

According to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who held talks with his Iranian counterpart, Tehran's expansion of its nuclear programme is "very worrying and entails major proliferation risks".

Tensions between Iran and the agency have repeatedly flared since a 2015 deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanction relief.

The deal fell apart after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States in 2018 and reimposed heavy sanctions on Iran.

Tehran in response stepped back from its mandates under the deal, increasing its enrichment levels up to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent threshold required to develop a nuclear bomb.

Iran, however, has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon, saying the nuclear developments are for civil and peaceful purposes.

According to the IAEA, Tehran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 percent.

The agency said on Tuesday that Iran had increased its stockpile of enriched uranium in recent months, which reached more than 32 times the cap set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

The stockpile was estimated at 6,604.4 kilograms as of October 26, up 852.6 kilos from the last quarterly report in August.

Last week, Araghchi told Grossi that Iran was "willing to negotiate" but was not "under pressure and intimidation".

He also said that if a resolution against Tehran was passed, Iran would "take new measures in our nuclear programme that they will certainly not like."

The veteran diplomat was Iran's chief negotiator in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal.