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Satellite image of the Natan underground nuclear facility in Iran
Photo: Planet Labs Pbc / dpa
The conflict over uranium enrichment in Iran is coming to a head.
The country has announced the operation of more centrifuges to enrich the material.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had previously turned against the country in a resolution.
The IAEA Board of Governors called on Iran on Wednesday to cooperate fully with the agency's inspectors.
Of the 35 countries on the body, only China and Russia voted against the resolution, according to diplomats.
The foreign ministry in Tehran described the resolution as "hasty" and "unbalanced."
Actually, Iran should have provided answers about possible secret activities in connection with the nuclear program by the beginning of June.
According to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, the country has still not made any technically credible statements.
Iran recently deployed two more cameras to monitor its nuclear facilities.
According to a report by the state broadcaster Irib, the Iranian nuclear organization communicated this.
The devices are said to be measuring cameras for enrichment processes.
Iran has Putin's backing
The IAEA had previously warned that Iran only needed a few weeks to prepare material for a nuclear bomb.
Tehran repeatedly emphasizes that it only wants to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also spoke on the phone on Wednesday.
The cooperation of independent states could neutralize the "illegal pressure" from the West, according to a statement by the Presidential Office in Tehran.
Negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program have been going on again in Vienna for months, also with German participation.
However, the diplomatic process to salvage the 2015 international deal with Iran is stuck.
The renewed restriction of the nuclear program is almost negotiated, but Washington and Tehran are still at odds over the lifting of US sanctions.
The aim of the negotiations in Vienna is to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement that was concluded between Iran on the one hand and the USA, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany on the other.
The United States, under then-President Donald Trump, unilaterally terminated the treaty in 2018 and reinstated sanctions.
As a result, Iran no longer adhered to all the details of the treaty.
US President Joe Biden has in principle declared his willingness to return to the agreement.
muk/dpa
